
Class. 
Book. 










AN 



S-3 



tr-v 



INTRODUCTION 



PEACTICAL PHARMACY: 



DESIGNED AS A 



~/V 



TEIT-BOOK FOR THE STUDEIT, 



AND AS A 



GUIDE TO THE PHYSICIAN AND PHARMACEUTIST. 



MANY FORMULAS AND PRESCRIPTIONS. 



BY 

EDWAED PAEBISH, 

GRADUATE IN PHARMACY ; MEMBER OF THE PHILSlDELPHIA COLLEGE OP PHARMACY, AND OF THE 

AMERICAN PHARMACEUTICAL ASSOCIATION ; AND PRINCIPAL OF THE SCHOOL OF 

PRACTICAL PHARMACY, PHILADELPHIA. 



WITH TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY-THREE ILLUSTRATIONS. 




PHILADELPHIA: 
BLANCHARD AND LEA 

1856. 



^ cJ 



Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1855, by 

BLAXCHARD AND LEA, 

in the Office of the Clerk of the District Court of the United States in and for the 
Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 



PHILADELPHIA: 
T. K. AND P. 0. COLLINS, PEIXTERS. 



TO 



WILLIAM PROCTER, Jr., 

PROFESSOR OP THEORY AND PRACTICE OF PHARMACY IN THE PHILADELPHIA COLLEGE OF PHARMACY, 
EDITOR OF THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHARMACY, ETC. 



€\h Wuk ia SnatriW 



AS A TESTIMONIAL TO HIS ZEAL AND ABILITY 



PROSECUTING THE SCIENCE AND ART OF PHARMACY, 



TRIBUTE OF THE ENDURING FRIENDSHIP AND ESTEEM 



THE AUTHOR 



PREFACE 



The labor of writing, arranging, and correcting for the press, 
the facts and observations embodied in these pages, is at length at 
an end, and the final duty is reached of explaining the design and 
arrangement of the whole, and of commending it, by a suitable 
prefatory address, to those for whom it has been written. 

As a teacher of pharmacy to medical students, I long since expe- 
rienced the want of a book which should contain the leading facts 
and principles of the science arranged for study, and with special 
reference to those features of the subject which possess a practical 
interest to the physician; there are in the United States some 
thousands of practitioners of medicine, to whom pharmacy is neces- 
sarily a collateral pursuit ; to many of these and to the numerous 
students under their charge, an elementary work, designed as an 
introduction to pharmacy, has been felt to be a desideratum. 

To prepare such a work has been the primary object of the 
undertaking now brought to a conclusion. 

The large and increasing class of students who are qualifying 
themselves for an honorable position in the profession of pharmacy, 
has, however, been kept steadily in view. Identified by kindred 
pursuits and interests with the pharmaceutical fraternity, it would 
not be expected that in a treatise, however elementary, on the spe- 
cial subject of our study and practice, I should overlook those 
branches of the general subject which specially interest the phar- 
maceutist. "With a high appreciation of the value of a systematic 
arrangement of subjects, I have attempted a pharmaceutical classi- 
fication of the materia medica, which, however imperfect as here 
produced, cannot fail to be of use to the student who would master 
the science of pharmacy. 

To the practical pharmaceutist, also, I have endeavored to ren- 
der this work valuable by the introduction of a large number of 
formulas for new and improved remedies, obtained chiefly, though 



VI PREFACE. 

not entirely, from the American Journal of Pharmacy, to whose 
contributors we are indebted for most that is new in strictly 
Galenical pharmacy. There are few apothecaries who may not de- 
rive advantage from this compilation of the " new remedies" in a 
compact form. 

By the attempt to adapt the work to both the physician and 
pharmaceutist, the student of medicine and of pharmacy, the under- 
taking has been rendered difficult of execution, and as a whole 
somewhat incongruous, and yet I believe in some respects its value 
is increased. So little is the scope and meaning of the subject, in 
its relations to the healing art, understood by many who assume 
its duties, especially throughout the more newly settled sections of 
the country, that a work which presents a general, though perhaps 
defective outline, may serve a better purpose than one devoted 
to special departments of the subject, and to full and scientific 
details. We are already supplied with ample works of reference: 
in this we have a text book for study and practice. 

In Part I. are grouped several chapters of a preliminary charac- 
ter, among which, metrology, including weights and measures, and 
specific gravity, holds a prominent place ; it is treated with an effort 
at simplicity, which should attract the student to its careful study. 

Galenical Pharmacy occupies Part II. ; the mode of preparing 
each of the various classes of permanent vegetable preparations 
prefaces a tabular statement of the relative strength, doses, and 
medical properties of the individual members. 

This compact form of displaying the leading facts of the subject 
will be observed as a conspicuous feature of the work, and is designed 
to adapt it particularly to the use of the student. For making 
the officinal preparations, distinct and definite formulas are omitted, 
being given in the Pharmacopoeia, which, as now published in a cheap 
form, it is presumed every physician and apothecary will possess 
and use. Unofficinal preparations are treated of more in detail, 
and hence occupy relatively a larger space. The order in which 
the preparations are introduced, is that which experience in the 
"School of Practical Pharmacy" has indicated as best for the student; 
those most easily prepared are first treated of, and by gradations 
the more complex are brought forward; the whole arrangement 
of Galenical preparations being thus founded primarily upon the 
several processes of pulverization, solution, maceration, displace- 



PEEFACE. Vil 

ment, evaporation, and distillation, and secondarily upon the men- 
strua used in making them, their medical properties and uses. 

Part III. is devoted to the classification of plants, giving in 
extensive syllabi almost all the leading articles of the materia 
medica, arranged on the basis of chemical composition. 

The vague and uncertain analysis of many plants, and parts of 
plants, and our ignorance in regard to the real composition of 
many of their active principles, takes from this part of the work 
much of the value it would otherwise possess. Advantage is taken 
of these headings to introduce a variety of secondary organic pro- 
ducts of great interest and importance, among which are the entire 
classes of vegetable acids and alkaloids. 

In Part IY. the essential facts in regard to the inorganic medi- 
cines are briefly stated, and shown also in syllabi. 

Part Y. contains practical directions for prescribing, selecting, 
combining, and dispensing medicines, illustrated by a considerable 
number of formulas or prescriptions variously written in Latin 
and English, abbreviated and unabbreviated. The attention of 
physicians is asked to this part of the work as showing the best 
modes of prescribing many of the more important drugs ; it will 
be observed, that in the selection of prescriptions for publication 
in this connection, I have availed myself of the skill of numerous 
practitioners of medicine, some of whom are well known, besides 
introducing many standard extemporaneous preparations which 
the physician often finds occasion to prescribe, and the pharma- 
ceutist to prepare and dispense. 

The chapter devoted to dispensing is less in detail than was ori- 
ginally intended, as the limits assigned to the work had been 
greatly exceeded before reaching that important practical branch ; 
the instructions under that head will, however, be found useful to 
the country practitioner, for whom, especially, they were written. 

That the work contains errors of omission and of commission, 
the author is well aware. It has been written during hours literally 
stolen from cares and duties which none but the pharmaceutical 
reader can appreciate ; it is the production of a practical man, 
who, amid various difficulties, has earnestly aimed to add a useful 
and substantial contribution to the much neglected literature of his 
profession ; as such, let it go forth to meet its fate. 

Before closing this preface, it is proper to remark that I have 
freely used all the latest works upon materia medica and phar- 



Vlll PREFACE. 

macy, among which, Dr. Garrod's Essentials of Materia Medica, 
Dorvault's l'Officine, Gmelin and Loewig's works, and the late edi- 
tions of Pereira's Materia Medica and Therapeutics, and Wood 
and Bache's Dispensatory, may be mentioned. 

To my pharmaceutical friends who have aided me in the analy- 
sis of prescriptions, contained in the chapter on that subject, and 
to several medical friends, whose criticisms on the proof-sheets have 
added finish and accuracy to some of the concluding chapters, I 
must acknowledge my obligations, while to the publishers, the 
printer, and the engraver, my acknowledgments are due for many 
valuable suggestions in regard to the mechanical execution of the 
work. 



CONTENTS 



PART I. 

PRELIMINARY. 



CHAPTER I. 



PAET II. 
GALENICAL PHARMACY. 



PAGE 



On the furniture and implements necessary to the dispensing office or 

shop ......... 17 

Implements ........ 23 

CHAPTER II. 
On weights and measures, and specific gravity .... 37 

CHAPTER III. 
On the pharmacopceia ....... 54 



CHAPTER I. 

On the collection and desiccation of plants . . . . .63 

On the powdering of drugs, and on powders .... 65 

CHAPTER II. 

On solution, filtration, and the medicated waters ... 74 

The medicated waters ....... 76 

Aquae medicatse, JJ. S. (syllabus) ..... 77 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER i: 



On maceration and the infusions 
Infusa, U. S. (syllabus) 
Unofficinal infusions 



PAGE 

92 

95 



CHAPTER IV 

Percolation, oil the displacement process 



CHAPTER V. 



Tinctures 

Officinal (syllabus) 
Unofficinal 



110 
113 
117 



CHAPTER VI, 



Medicated wines and vinegars 

Vina medicata, U. S. (syllabus) 
Unofficinal wines 
Aceta, U. S. (syllabus) . 
Unofficinal ethereal tinctures . 



120 
120 
121 
123 
125 



CHAPTER V 



Galenical preparations of opium 
Officinal solutions (syllabus) 
Unofficinal solutions 



126 
127 
130 



CHAPTER VIII. 

The generation of heat for pharmaceutical purposes 
Thermometers ...... 



135 
144 



CHAPTER IX. 

On the modes of applying heat for pharmaceutical purposes, and on 

THE decoctions ........ 145 

Processes requiring heat . . . . . .149 

Decocta U. S. (syllabus) . . . . .151 



CHAPTER X. 



On evaporation and the extracts . 
Extracta, U. S. (syllabi) 
Unofficinal and pseudo-extracts 
"Concentrated'' or resinoid extracts 



151 
155 
159 
163 



CHAPTER XI. 



Fluid extracts 

Extracta fluida, U. S. (syllabi) 



166 
167 



CONTENTS. 



Unofficinal fluid extracts (syllabus) 
Unofficinal fluid extracts of the second class 
Unofficinal fluid extracts of the third class 



PAGE 

170 
177 

181 



CHAPTER 


XII. 








Of syrups ......... 183 


Syrupi, U. S. . 








185 


Unclassified syrups 








189 


Unofficinal syrups 








190 


Unofficinal syrups of the second class 








193 


Unofficinal syrups of the fourth class 








195 


Unclassified unofficinal syrups . 








195 


Mineral-water syrups . 








198 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Of pulps, conserves, confections, electuaries, pastes, lozenges, and 

CANDIES 

Pulpse, U.S. 
Confectiones, U. S. 
Unofficinal confections 
Pastes . 



Trochisci, U.S. 



204 
205 
205 
206 
207 
209 
211 



CHAPTER XIV. 

On distillation and spirits . 
Apparatus for distillation 
The process of distillation 
Officinal preparations made by distillation 
Spiritus, U.S. . 
Cologne water, &c. . 



216 
217 
225 
227 
228 
229 



PART III 



ON THE PHARMACY OF PLANTS, THEIR 
PRODUCTS, &o. 



CHAPTER I. 



LlQNIN AND ITS DERIVATIVES . 

Lignin . 
Collodium 
Carbo ligni and carbo animalis 



234 
235 
243 



CONTENTS. 



Acidum aceticum ..... 

Acetone, pyroacetic spirit, and pyroxylic spirit, wood naphtha 
Creasotum ....... 



PAGE 

244 
245 
245 



CHAPTER II. 

Ox FARINACEOUS, MUCILAGINOUS, AND SACCHARINE PRINCIPLES 



247 



CHAPTER III. 



The protein and similar principles 
Gelatin . 



255 

259 



CHAPTER IV. 



Fermentation, alcohol, and the ethers 
Alcohol .... 
^Etherea, U. S. . 
Chloroformum . 



261 
264 
266 
270 



Fixed oils and fats 
Lead plaster 



CHAPTER V. 



271 

272 



CHAPTER VI. 

On volatile oils, camphors, and resins 
Volatile or essential oils 
Carbo-hydrogen essential oils 
Oxygenated oils 
Sulphuretted oils 
Camphors 
Resins, gum resins, oleo-resins, and balsams 



280 
280 
284 
285 
287 
287 
290 



CHAPTER VII. 
Os neutral organic principles, mostly peculiar to a limited number op 

PLANTS, AND POSSESSED OF MEDICINAL PROPERTIES .... 292 

Syllabus of neutral organic peculiar principles, -with the drugs -which 

yield them ........ 294 

Coloring matters ....... 297 

CHAPTER VIII. 

■■ >H VEGETABLE ACIDS ........ 298 

Syllabus of the principal vegetable acids, their sources, composition, &c. 299 

First group. — Fruit acids ...... 800 

Second group. — Astringent acids ..... 301 

Third or balsamic group ...... 304 

Fourth group. — Acids naturally combined with alkaloids . . 308 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER IX. 







PAGE 


On the alkaloids 


r 


309 


Syllabus 


311 


The opium alkaloids 




312 


The cinchona alkaloids 




316 


Tests for distinguishing 


the alkaloids . 


324 



PART IV. 

INORGANIC PHARMACEUTICAL PREPARATIONS. 



CHAPTER I. 



On mineral acids ...... 


325 


Acida, U.S. ■.'■'■'. 


326 


Phosphatic acids, &c. ..... 


331 


CHAPTER II. 




The alkalies and their salts .... 


332 


Potassa salts ...... 


333 


Soda salts ...... 


339 


Alkaline tartrates ..... 


343 


Native alkaline salts, &c. 


345 


Preparations of ammonia .... 


346 


CHAPTER III. 




On the earths and their preparations . . ; 


349 


Preparations of lime ..... 


349 


Preparations of magnesia .... 


355 


Preparations of baryta ..... 


355 


Preparations of alumina .... 


355 



CHAPTER IV. 

On the non-metallic elements and their medicinal preparations 
Preparations of iodine ...... 

Preparations of bromine ..... 

Preparations of sulphur ..... 

Phosphorus ....... 



361 
361 
364 
365 
367 



CHAPTER V. 



Iron and manganese . 
Ferrum . 

Preparations of iron 
Preparations of manganese 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER VI. 



RATIONS OF COPPER AND ZINC 


383 


Cuprum .... 


383 


Copper preparations 


383 


Zincum .... 


384 


Preparations of zinc 


385 



CHAPTER VII. 



On lead, silver, and bismuth 


389 


Plumbum . 


389 


Preparations of lead . 


389 


Argentum . 


393 


Preparations of silver .... 


393 


Bisniuthuin . . . . . 


395 



CHAPTER VIII 



Antimony and arsenic preparations 
Antimony 

Preparations of antimony 
Arsenicum 
Preparations of arsenic 



396 



399 



CHAPTER IX. 



Mercury 

Hydrargyrum . 
Mercurial compounds 



401 
401 

402 



PART V. 
EXTEMPORANEOUS PHARMACY. 



CHAPTER I. 
On prescriptions .... 
The language used in prescriptions 



409 
412 



CHAPTER II. 
On the writing of prescriptions 



417 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER III. 















PAGE 


On the art of selecting and combining medicines .... 423 


On the art of combining medicines ..... 425 


CHAPTER IV. 


On powders and pills ....... 428 


Pulveres 










428 


Pilulse .... 










430 


Astringents 










436 


Tonics and aromatics . 










438 


Nervous stimulants ; antispasmodics 










443 


Arterial stimulants 










443 


Cerebral stimulants, or narcotics 










444 


" Excito-motor stimulants" 










445 


Arterial sedatives 










445 


Emetics 










445 


Cathartics and laxatives 










446 


Diuretics and expectorants 










449 


Diaphoretics 










450 


Alteratives . . . 










451 


Emmenagogues . 










451 


Suppositoria 










452 


CHAPTER V. 


Liquid preparations, solutions, mixtures, &c. . . . . 454 


Astringents .... 








460 


Tonics . 












463 


Arterial stimulants 












464 


Nervous stimulants 












465 


Narcotics 












466 


Arterial and nervous sedatives 












466 


Cathartics 












466 


Diuretics 












468 


Diaphoretics 












470 


Expectorants, &c. 












473 


CHAPTER VI. 


External applications, &c. . . . 476 


Collyria 












477 


Injections 












478 


Gargles 












478 


Baths . 












478 


Inhalations 












479 


Cerates and ointments . 












479 


Plasters 












490 


Cataplasms 












491 


Liniments 












493 



XVI CONTENTS. 




CHAPTER VII. 






TAGE 


OX THE ART OF DISPENSING MEDICINES 


495 


Furniture of the dispensing office 


496 


Folding of powders ..... 


499 


Preparation and dispensing of pills 


501 


The dispensing of liquids .... 


503 


Labelling, &c. ...... 


500 



APPENDIX. 

Physicians' outfits ........ 509 

Seventy-five dollar outfit ...... 509 

Fifty dollar outfit . . . . . . .511 

Twenty-five dollar outfit . . . . . .513 

List of plants growing in Philadelphia City limits, and the adjacent parts of 

New Jersey, with their habitat, time of flowering, &c. . . .514 

Preparations used as articles of diet for the sick and convalescent . . 519 

Recipes for some of the more important "patent medicines" . . 522 



LIST OF. ILLUSTRATIONS 



Broad German salt-mouth, adapted to materia medica specimens 

German mushroom stopper 

American blown salt-mouth 

Moulded salt-mouth, showing hollow stopper 

Moulded salt-mouth 

Long-neck German tincture 

American moulded tincture 

Ordinary American blown tincture 

Specia jar . 

Common wide-mouth packer 

Extra wide-mouth packer. Flint glass 

Common packing bottle 

Extra packing bottle 

Canopy- top jar . 

Tie-over jar .... 

Flat-top covered jar 

Gallipot ..... 

Bottle of extract .... 

Box of Tilden's extract 

Prescription scales and case, with the sash raised to the proper height 

for use .... 
Prescription scales without upright 
Cheap tea scales .... 
24, 25, 26. Weights of sheet brass 
28. Avery's weight 
Series of apothecaries' or cup weights 
Four-fluidounce graduated measure 
Medicine chest measure 
Minim measure .... 
34. Wedgewood mortar and pestle 
Porcelain mortar .... 
Mortar and pestle for contusion . 
Spice-mill ..... 
89, 40. Spatulas .... 
Graduated pill tile .... 
Pill machine . . . . 

The porcelain funnel . . * 

2 



PAGE 
17 

18 
18 
18 
18 
19 
19 
19 
20 
20 
20 
20 
20 
22 
22 
22 
23 
23 
23 

24 
25 
26 
26 
27 
27 
28 
28 
29 
30 
30 
31 
32 



34 



XV111 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



FIG. 

44, 
46, 
48. 
49. 
50. 
51. 
52. 
53. 
54. 
55. 
56. 
57. 
58, 
60, 
63. 
64. 
65. 



100, 
102. 
103. 
104, 
106, 
108, 
110. 
111. 
112. 
113. 



45. Tin displacers, with upper and lower diaphragm 

47. Porcelain displacer, with two diaphragms 

Fluted long prescription vial, of flint glass 

Wide-mouth flint fluted vial 

Plain prescription vial, of flint glass 

Plain German flint vial . 

Old fashioned long green vial 

Short prescription vial, green glass 

Series of apothecaries' or cup weights . 

Commercial or avoirdupois weights 

Four-fluidounce graduated measure 

Minim measure .... 

59. Bottle with drop machine 

61, 62. Stoppered specific gravity bottle, tin box, and counterpoise 

Specific gravity bottle, unstoppered 

Hydrometer for liquids lighter than water 

Urinometer box containing thermometer, graduated glf 

Urinometer in use 

68. Hydrometer, with vessel for floating it 

Saccharometer .... 

Mortar and pestle for contusion . 

72. Wedgewood mortar and pestle 

Tobacco knife ' . 

Swift's drug-mill .... 

Spice-mill .... 

Porcelain mortar .... 

78. Flannel strainer 

80. Apparatus for straining syrups, &c. . 

Physick's jelly strainer . 

83. Diagrams for folding filter 

Plain filter .... 

86. Diagrams for folding filter 

88, 89, 90, 91. Diagrams for folding plaited filter 

93, 94. Plaited filters 

Section of a well-formed funnel . 

Filter support .... 

Filter for volatile liquids . 

Pouring with a guiding rod 

Bernhard & Co.'s mineral water apparatus 

101. Nichols's patent mineral water fountain 

Section of Alsop's infusion mug . 

Section of Squire's infusion pot . 

105. Tin displacer, with upper and lower diaphragm 

107. Porcelain displacer, with two diaphragms 

109. Lamp-chimney displacers with supports 

Receiving bottle for displacement 

Tin displacer for volatile liquids 

Glass displacer .... 

Small syringe pattern displacer . 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



FIG. 

114. Graduated receiving bottle 

115. Bottle for continuous filtration and displacement 

116. Smith's steam displacer . 

117. Extemporaneous glass displacers 

118. Glass spirit lamp 

119. Extemporaneous glass lamp 

120. French hand furnace 

121. 122. Tin alcohol lamp and stand 

123. Mitchell's lamp .... 

124. Mitchell's retort stand and lamp 

125. Berzelius's lamp .... 

126. Lamp chimney .... 

127. Russian or alcohol blast lamp and stove 

128. Crucible jacket .... 

129. Portable gas apparatus . 

130. Gas burner with mercury cup and cap 

131. Ground gas burner and cap 

132. Argand burner . . . • 

133. Gas burner for small jets 

134. Screen and support for gas heating operations 

135. Gas stove .... 

136. Gas furnace upon an argand burner 

137. Small gas stove .... 

138. Metallic chimney and crucible support . 

139. Thermometer . 

140. Diagram of different thermometers 

141. Extemporaneous water bath 

142. Application of radiated heat 

143. Metallic water bath . . . 

144. Porcelain water bath 

145. 146, 147. Hecker's farina boiler . 

148. Water bath for drying niters 

149. Apparatus for hot filtration 

150. Berlin evaporating dish . 

151. Application of radiated heat 

152. Part of Wiegand's retort stand . 

153. 154. Tilden's extract bottle and box 

155. Canopy-top jar .... 

156. Tie-over jar .... 

157. Flat-top covered jar 

158. Gallipot 

159. Flannel strainer .... 

160. 161. Apparatus for straining 

162. Board, roller, and punch, for making lozenges 

163. Tubulated retort . . . 

164. Plain retort, tubulated receiver, and adapter 

165. Retort with quilled receiver 

166. Distillation with plain retort and receiver 

167. Tin retort with water joint 



PAGE 

103 
106 
108 
110 
136 
136 
136 
136 
136 
137 
137 
137 
138 
139 
139 
140 
140 
141 
"141 
142 
142 
142 
142 
143 
144 
145 
147 
147 
147 
148 
148 
149 
149 
152 
153 
153 
156 
165 
165 
165 
165 
201 
201 
209 
217 
217 
218 
218 
219 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



168. Liebig's condenser 

169. Cork borer 

170. Rat-tail file 

171. Brass Liebig's condenser in retort stand 

172. Small glass condenser and flask . 

173. Retort stand for use in distillation 

174. Complete apparatus for distillation 

175. Flask and safety tube 

176. Section of pharmaceutical still . 

177. Collodion vial 

178. Starch granules as seen under a microscope 

179. Displacers for making tannic acid 

180. Evaporating dish and lamp 

181. Water-bath funnel 

182. Digestion in a flask 

183. Arrangement for filtration 

184. Apparatus for making nitric acid 

185. Carbonic acid apparatus . 
186^187. Crucibles . 

188. Small crucible in use 

189. Preparation of liquor pota?s;e 

190. Plain siphon 

191. Siphon with suction tube 

192. 193. Wedgewood mortar and pestle 
194, 195. Wide-mouth packers suited to precipitation 
196, 197, 198. Apparatus for making iodide of sulphur 

199. Preparation of liquor potassce 

200, 201. Spritz and its use . 

202. Graduated receiving bottle 

203. Closed filter .... 

204. Capsule .... 

205. 206. Bottle and filter for precipitating iodide of lead 

207. Precipitating jar 

208. Four-ounce fluted vial 

209. Plain filter .... 

210. Pill box for weighing mercury 

211. Tube and piston for introducing suppositories 

212. Tin strainer .... 

213. Beaker glass .... 

214. Glass funnel .... 

215. Two forms of inhaling apparatus 

216. Ointment jar .... 

217. Pattern for blisters 

218. Small syringe pattern displacer . 

219. Vial for blistering collodion 

220. 221. Plaster irons 

222. Counter lamps .... 

223. Spritz ..... 

224. Cork-screw .... 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



FIG. 








PAGE 


225. Retort stand ........ 498 


226. Paper for package 








499 


227. Paper package 








500 


228. Upright reel 








500 


229. Paper for powder 








500 


230. "Powder" 








500 


231. Envelop for single powders 








500 


232. Wiegand's powder folder 








501 


233. Powder folder 








501 


234. Bottle for moistening pill masses 








502 


235. Bottle with drop machine 








502 


236. Pill tile .... 








502 


237. Pill machine 








502 


238. Dusting bottle 








503 


239. Manner of holding the measure, bottle, s 


nd stopper 






504 


240. Well-shaped vial . 








505 


241. Cork presser 








505 


242. Paste bottle and brush . 








506 


243. Farina boiler 








519 



ALPHABETICAL INDEX 



CLASSES OF MEDICINES AND PREPARATIONS, 



CHIEFLY OFFICINAL, DISPLAYED IN THE FORM OF SYLLABI. 







PAGE 




PAGE 


Acids, mineral, 




327 


Magnesia preparations, 


355 


" vegetable, 




299 


Manganese, preparations, 


380 


Alkaline tartrates, 




343 


Medicines suited to form of powder, 


435 


Alkaloids, 




311 


" " liquid form, 


455 


Ammonia, preparations, 




346 


" " pilular form 


437 


Antimony, preparations, 




396 


Medicated waters, 


77 


Arsenic, preparations, 




399 


Mercury, preparations, 


402 


Astringents, vegetable, 




304 


Neutral crystalline principles, 


294 


Balsams, 




290 


Oils, fixed, 




Baryta, preparations, 




359 


" volatile, carbo-hydrogen, 


284 


Benzyle series, 




284 


" " oxygenated, 


286 


Bismuth, preparations, 




395 


" " sulphuretted, 


287 


Bromine, preparations, 




364 


Ointments and cerates, 481, 483 


, 486 


Camphene series, 




283 


Oleo-resins, 


289 


Cerates and ointments, 481 


483 


, 486 


Opium, preparations, 


127 


Cinnamyle series, 




284 


Pharmaceutical incompatibles, 


458 


Confections, 


205 


, 206 


Plasters, 


491 


Copper preparations, 




383 


Potassa salts, 333 


, 343 


Decoctions, 




151 


Preparations used in mixtures, 


456 


Earths, and their preparations, 




349 


" to be prescribed singly, 


458 


Extractive matters, 




294 


Pulps, 


205 


Electuaries, 




206 


Resinous drugs, 


290 


Extracts, 


158 


, 159 


Resins, proper, 


289 


Fecula, in its various forms, 




249 


Silver, preparations, 


389 


Fluid extracts, 167 


168 


, 170 


Soda salts, 


339 


Gum resins, 




290 


Spirits, 


228 


Gums, in their various forms, 




248 


Starchy and mucilaginous drugs, 


250 


Infusions, 


95, 96 


Sulphur, preparations, 


365 


Iodine, preparations, 




361 


Syrups, 167, 168, 185, 186, 188 


, 189 


Iron, preparations, 




368 


Tinctures, 113, 114, 115 


, 116 


Lead, preparations, 




389 


" ammoniated, 


117 


Liniments, 


493 


494 


Vinegars, medicated, 


125 


Lozenges, 




211 


Wines, medicated, 


121 



XXIV CLASSES OF MEDICINES AND PREPARATIONS. 



MISCELLANEOUS TABLES. 



PAGE 
39 

39 

39 
40 
41 



Officinal weights, 

Commercial weights, 

Value of officinal in com. weights 

Officinal measures, 

Imperial measure, 

Of drops of different liquids (Durand), 43 

(Procter), 43 

(Parrish), 43 

" water, 44 

Specific gravity of water at dif. temp., 48 



PAGE 

Specific gravity of liquids lighter than 
water, 53 

" " " heavier than 

water, 54 
Table of the strength of wines, 264 

" " " vinegars, 245 

" " " fluid extracts, 169 

" approximate measurement, 43 

" for apportioning quantities in 

prescription, 419 



AN INTRODUCTION 



PEACTICAL PHARMACY 



PART I. 
PRELIMINARY. 



CHAPTER I. 



ON THE FURNITURE AND IMPLEMENTS NECESSARY TO THE 
DISPENSING OFFICE OR SHOP. 

The various forms of apparatus required by the apothecary and 
physician in the preparation and dispensing of medicines, will be 
brought into view in connection with the pharmaceutical processes, 
successively described and illustrated throughout this work. In the 
present preliminary chapter, it will suffice to describe those most sim- 
ple kinds of apparatus which are indispensable to the country prac- 
titioner in the performance of the manipulations coming within the 
range of his office practice, and are also useful as 
part of the necessary outfit of the apothecary. Fi s- *• 

The Furniture Bottles. — Much depends 
upon the selection of suitable bottles to contain 
a stock of medicines. They should be of flint 
glass, and fitted with well-ground glass stoppers. 
Recently our market has been supplied exten- 
sively with German glassware, which possesses 
the advantage of cheapness and excellence of 
quality. German bottles are generally of greater 
diameter in proportion to their height, and those 
designed for solids, possess wider mouths, and 
consequently larger stoppers than American 
bottles of the same capacity. Fig. 1 represents 
one of this description. They are preferred by 
many for ordinary purposes, and are certainly 
well adapted for putting up specimens of the 
materia medica, for the purpose of study and 
2 




Broad German salt- 
mouth, adapted to ma- 
teria medica specimens. 



18 



THE DISPENSING OFFICE. 



illustration. Besides these, there is a variety of German bottles 
known as mushroom stoppers, shown in Fig. 2, which are of a very 
different shape, being tall, and of small diameter. The stopper is 
less liable to be broken in loosening it when it has become tight in 
its place, and the shape is considered by many as in better taste. 

Fig. 2. 




Fig. 




Germaa mushroom stopper. 



American blown salt-mouth. 



The American made bottles are of two kinds, those blown and 
finished without a mould (Fig. 8), which are the most transparent 



Fig. 4. 



Fig. 5. 





Moulded salt-mouth, showing hollow stopper. 



Moulded salt-mouth. 



FURNITURE BOTTLES. 



19 



and smoothest kind, and those blown in a mould (Figs. 4 and 5), 
to which I usually give preference from their greater uniformity of 
size and shape, adapting them to the furniture of a physician's office 
or shop. The hollow stopper, shown in Fig. 4, is also moulded and 
afterwards ground; it has advantages over any other description of 
stopper. 

Bottles with wide mouths and ground glass stoppers, used for 
solids, are called salt-mouths ; those with narrow mouths and ground 
glass stoppers, used for liquids, are called tinctures. 

Tinctures, with very long necks and narrow mouths, as shown in 
Fig. 6, though desirable sometimes for containing very volatile 
liquids, are inconvenient for syrups and the fixed oils, and very ill 
adapted to dropping. They are also less readily cleaned than the 
ordinary tincture bottles, shown in Figs. 7 and 8, which have necks 

Fig. 6. 




Fig. 7. 



Fig. 8. 





Long-neck German tincture. 



American moulded 
tincture. 



Ordinary American blown 
tincture. 



no longer than that of a salt-mouth ; it is necessary, however, that 
the stoppers of these should be well fitted and ground. 

Besides the foregoing, there are two kinds of bottles frequently 
employed in furnishing the physician's outfit, where cheapness is 
the chief consideration, viz : — 

The specia jar, which consists of a wide-mouth bottle without a 
lip, the mouth of which is covered by a tin top. This is objection- 



20 



THE DISPENSING OFFICE. 



able as not excluding the air, and it is also less cleanly and neat 
than the salt-mouth. It is rather cheaper. 



Fig. 9. 




Fig. 10. 




Common wide-mouth packer. 



Packing bottles are made, either with a wide mouth for solids, 
as in Figs. 10 and 11, or a narrow mouth for liquids, as in Figs. 
12 and 13 ; these are stopped by corks, and are the least desirable 



Fig. n. 



Fig. 12. 



Fig. 13. 




' 




Extra wide-month packer. Common packing bottle. 
Flint glass. 



Extra packing bottle. 



FURNITURE BOTTLES. 21 

kind of furniture bottle, though very useful for transporting medi- 
cines, or for keeping extra supplies with which to replenish the 
regular furniture bottles. Packing bottles are comparatively cheap, 
and are generally stronger than salt-mouths or tinctures. They are 
usually made of green glass, and may be formed without a lip, 
called common (Pig. 12), or with a lip, called extra (Fig. 13). Those 
with the lip are the most approved ; they hold somewhat more than 
their nominal capacity. 

Uniformity in the size and shape of the furniture bottles, adds 
much to the completeness of the physician's outfit. Care should be 
taken to apportion the different sizes, so that there will be enough 
of each to fill a shelf in the medicine case allotted to them. Thus, if 
there are twelve quart bottles, there should be fourteen pint, sixteen 
half pint, twenty four-ounce, or in about this proportion. In view 
of this fact, I have prepared catalogues which will be found in the 
appendix, embracing assortments more or less complete of the most 
prominent articles of the Materia Medica, so apportioned as to 
quantity as that each shall constitute a uniform and well-arranged 
collection of medicines, and at a certain definite price, according to 
the extent and completeness of the outfit. 

It is the practice of some druggists in furnishing physicians' out- 
fits to label the furniture bottles with the common English labels 
used in ordinary dispensing operations. This is quite objectionable, 
for reasons which are sufficiently obvious. Others, though employ- 
ing Latin labels, printed for the purpose, disfigure each bottle by a 
conspicuous card, announcing their name, occupation, and address. 
In order to insure, as far as in their power, the use of correct 
nomenclature in labelling furniture bottles and drawers, the Phila- 
delphia College of Pharmacy have published two sets of Latin 
labels, each containing an assortment, embracing several different 
sizes, according as the articles are kept in large or small quantity. 
These are sold by our principal druggists, and from their com- 
pleteness, elegance, and cheapness, commend themselves to all who 
are about fitting up a shop or dispensing office. The yellow labels 
are sold at $1 25 per set ; the bronze at $10. Specimen labels, 
such as shown in Pig. 1, are also published by the College. 

After having pasted the label on to the bottle or drawer, by 
means of mucilage of tragacanth, or other convenient paste, and 
stretched it tightly over the part, it should be smoothed by laying 
a piece of thin paper upon it, and pressing it uniformly with the 
thumb. When it has become dry, it may be sized by painting over 
it a thin coating of clear mucilage of gum Arabic. This should 
extend a very little over the edges of the label. It should be then 
dried again, and varnished with spirit varnish. This not only im- 
proves the appearance of the label, but renders it durable and 
impervious to moisture. 



22 



THE DISPENSING OFFICE. 



Jars. — Ointments and extracts are usually kept in jars made of 
porcelain or queensware. These vary in quality, in color, and in 
shape. They should not be made of a very 
Fig. 14. porous material, especially if designed for 

ointments, and should be well glazed, both 
on the inside and outside surfaces. The best 
are imported from England. 

In regard to the shape of jars; the variety 
called canopy-top (Fig. 14) is generally pre- 
ferred, as having a more finished appearance 
than the flat-top (Fig. 16). 

Jars of this kind should never be labelled 
on the top, as is the custom with some ; the 
tops being about of the same size, are liable 
to be misplaced, and mistakes occasionally 
occur in this way. 

Ointments and extracts are also frequently 
put into queensware jars without tops, called 
gallipots and tie-overs (Figs. 15 and 17). These 
Canopy-top jar. are cheaper than covered jars, but are incon- 

venient and ill adapted to the preservation of 
the substances kept in them. They are usually tied over with kid, 
bladder, or parchment, the latter substance being the best. Extracts 




Fig. 15. 



Fig. 16. 



Fig. 17. 




Tie-over jar. 



Flat-top covered jar. 



Gallipot. 



rapidly lose their moisture when kept in tie-overs or gallipots, and 
those which contain volatile active principles, as extract of conium, 
soon become deteriorated. Ointments also undergo a change under 
these circumstances, frequently becoming rancid. When tie-over 
jars are used, it is well to cover the. top with a piece of tin-foil, pre- 
vious to securing the skin over it ; this obviates in part the disad- 
vantages to which they are liable. 

Tilden & Co., of New Lebanon, N. Y., of whose extracts I shall 
have occasion to speak again, have introduced the fashion of putting 
them into wide-mouth bottles of various sizes, containing from one 
ounce to a pound of extract, with cork stoppers, capped by thick 
tin-foil. Each bottle is inclosed in a paper box of the proper size. 
Figs. 18 and 19 represent the arrangement. This is, undoubtedly, 
an improvement upon the old method of keeping extracts, and has 



PACKAGES — SCALES. 



23 



but one objection, that owing to the comparative depth of the 
bottle and smallness of its mouth, it i is sometimes difficult to get at 
the last portions of extract. 



Fig. 18. 



Fig. 19. 





Packages. — Besides the medicines usually kept in bottles and 
jars, there are many in the physician's outfit which are adapted to 
drawers ; these are sent to him in paper packages, and as he is not 
always provided with a sufficient number of drawers to appropriate 
one to each article, they are frequently thrown together. Where 
this is the case, he should take care to have all those substances 
possessing a strong odor, as, for instance, valerian and serpentaria, 
kept separate from the others if not put into bottles ; here the 
specia jars will be found useful. Packages of this description 
should be secured in two distinct papers, one of which should be 
thick and well glazed. 

When drugs are to be preserved in packages, and have to be 
unwrapped every time a portion is taken out, they should be tied 
with good linen twine, passed at' least twice around the package in 
the same direction, and connected by a bow knot. 

The mode of folding, tying, and labelling paper packages, will 
be spoken of under the head of dispensing medicines. 



Implements. 

Of the necessary implements for preparing and dispensing medi- 
cines in their more ordinary forms, I shall speak in this place, 
leaving a reference to some of those not usually met with in the 
physician's office, to subsequent parts of the work. 

Scales. — The scales should be two in number. The pair for pre- 
scriptions, suitablefor weighing one drachm and under, and the pair 
for weighing two drachms and upwards. 

There are many different varieties of prescription scales in use ; 
the most approved is that with an upright pillar, into the top of 
which is set a fulcrum, containing planes of hard steel, on which 



24 



THE DISPENSING OFFICE. 



rest knife edges of the same material, placed at the centre of gravity 
of the beam ; such scales are usually made of brass, the beam and 
scale dishes being frequently of silver. They vary in price according 
to their material and workmanship, from ten to twenty -five dollars. 
To preserve their delicacy, they should be kept in a suitable case, 

Fig. 20. 




Prescription scales and case, with the sash raised to the proper height for use. 

and in a position where they are not liable to a jarring motion, so 
prejudicial to the sharpness of the knife edges. In cleaning them, 
care should be taken to avoid bending in the slightest degree, one 
or other arm of the lever, which is thin and flexible. It is well to 
try the accuracy of the scales occasionally, as well by weighing 
exceedingly small quantities upon them when balanced by heavy 
weights, as by weighing the same quantity successively on the 
opposite plates, by which means the least deflection in one or other 
arm of the lever may be ascertained. 

Owing to the comparative expensiveness of these scales, another 



SCALES. 



25 



kind is more extensively purchased by physicians, in which the 
upright pillar is omitted. These are usually imported either from 
England, France, or Germany. They come in boxes of wood or tin, 
and have the advantage of being much more portable. The best 
are received from England, and have steel beams. The German 
variety is very inferior, and, indeed, is frequently worthless. The 
physician who administers strychnia, veratria, or morphia in his 
practice, may as well judge of the quantity by the eye as by the 
use of a pair of common German scales, which frequently fail to 
indicate it within half a grain or even a grain. 

Yery good scales in boxes are made in this country, at prices 
varying from three to five dollars each ; some have glass plates, 

Fig. 21. 




Prescription scales without upright. 

adapting them to weighing corrosive substances. Fig. 21 exhibits 
this description of scales, with the manner of holding them. 

Fig. 22 represents a kind of scales for weighing 3ss and upwards, 
which are less in use among medical practitioners than they ought 
to be ; until recently it has been customary to guess at quantities 
which were too large for the prescription scales, the expense of the 
larger kind of scales being a great objection on the part of the 
young practitioner to purchasing them. A pair of large brass scales, 
made on the principle of those in Fig. 20, costs from twelve to thirty 
dollars. The kind here shown is selected on account of its cheap- 
ness ; it is manufactured of iron, varnished, to protect it from rust, 



26 



THE DISPENSING OFFICE. 



with a movable tin pan or scoop, and a platform arrangement of 
the beam. It is furnished the country physician or storekeeper for 
one dollar and twenty-five cents, and answers a good purpose. 

Fig. 22. 




Cheap tea scales. 

Weights, although sometimes made in this country, are usually 
imported, of the smaller kinds, with the box scales. Those for ten 
grains and upwards are made of brass cut into squares, and marked 
with the officinal signs for denoting the different denominations of 
weight. Those for six grains and under, are of sheet brass cut into 
squares and variously marked with the number of grains, as shown 
in Figs. 28, 24, 25, and 26. 

Fig. 23. Fig. 24. Fig. 25. Fig. 26. 




Weights of sheet brass. 

The inexperienced operator is liable to error in using these 
small weights from the fact that they frequently have, besides the 
marks denoting the number of grains, a stamp placed on them by 
the manufacturer, which is the German sign corresponding with our 
gr. (grana). (See Fig. 24.) This is liable to be counted with the 
other indentations, and to add one to the actual number of grains; 
a two grain weight is liable to be taken for a three grain, a three 
grain to be used instead of a four, and so on. Close observation, 
however, will exhibit a decided difference between the two kinds of 
indentations. 

The mode of marking shown in Fig. 23, is more liable to error 
than the others, especially when the weights become soiled and a 
little corroded by use. 

In regard to accuracy, it must be admitted that most of the 



WEIGHTS. 



27 



imported weights are very faulty ; those made by our own scale 
makers are generally to be preferred. 

Within a few years past a description of weights from 3ij to 9ss 
has become common in our market, quite preferable to the Ger- 
man square weights of the same denominations. These are round, 
and stamped out of brass plates, with very distinct inscriptions, as 
shown in Figs. 27 and 28. They are imported from England, being 
the manufacture of W. and T. Avery, of Birmingham. 



Fig. 27. 



Fig. 28. 




Avery's weight. 

Some trials recently made with common German weights, con- 
vince me that few of those commonly met with are even reasonably 
accurate; a 5j weight was found to weigh as high as 69.8 grains, 
and a gr. vj weight weighed 6.75 grains; others approximated more 
nearly ; a 3ss weighed 30.25 grains, a 3j 60.1 grains, a 9ss 10.1 
grains, a 3\j 120.5 grains, &c. None of Avery's that were tried, 
varied more than T ^ grain from their nominal weight. 

The larger apothecaries' weights are almost invariably in the 
shape of cups, fitting into each other, the two inmost ones (Fig. 29) 
representing each two drachms ; the next a half ounce, the next an 
ounce, and so on up to sixteen ounces in the larger nests. Now, 
as each cup represents a certain weight by itself, and as each 
is double that inside of it (excepting the two smallest, which are 
equal), the sum of any nest will be equal to that of any weight into 
which it fits ; thus, the 16 oz. weight will balance the nest within 
it, which consists of an eight ounce, a four ounce, a two ounce, a 
one ounce, a half ounce, and two quarter ounces, and the entire 
nest will weigh thirty-two ounces. 

Fig. 29. 




Series of apothecaries' or cup weights. 

This arrangement of weights, though very compact and conve- 
nient, and furnishing a prominent distinction between the officinal 
and ordinary commercial weights, is more expensive than might be 



28 



THE DISPENSING OFFICE. 



Fig. 30. 



desired, considering the great utility to the apothecary and physician 
of having a good supply of such important implements of his art. 

The physician about commencing practice in the country, and 
desirous of economizing in this department of his outfit, may pro- 
cure sets of these weights ascending as high as four ounces, the 
nest weighing eight ounces. They will be found to answer his 
purposes in preparing tinctures, syrups, &c, in small quantities ; in 
dispensing the vegetable medicines for infusions ; and in his weighing 
operations generally, less disadvantage would flow from the exclu- 
sive use of apothecaries' than of avoirdupois weights. The subject 
of weights and measures is more fully presented in the next 
chapter, where drawings will also be found of the avoirdupois 
weights in use. 

Measures. — As all liquid substances are generally dispensed by 
measure rather than by weight, and as our Pharmacopoeia directs the 
use of the officinal standard of measurement in 
preparations containing liquids, with but few 
exceptions, one or more graduated measures 
are necessarily embraced in the physician's 
outfit. The most convenient for dispensing 
operations, is either a four or eight ounce 
conical measure, such as is shown in Fig. 30. 
These are of flint or of green glass, and are 
graduated down to one fluidrachm or half a 
drachm, which are the lowest denominations 
we generally wish to measure, and they can 
be rilled several times in succession when it 
is desirable to measure a pint or quart. 

These measures are either made by our 
own glass manufacturers, and graduated here 
by persons following it as a business, or they are imported from 
Germany. The German measures are not to be relied on for accu- 
racy, though from the quality of the glass, they are generally 
believed to be less liable than our own to break in measuring hot 
liquids. 

In selecting a measure, the chief points to be observed are, to 
have a good lip for pouring the liquids from, and 
clear and distinct marks both on the fluidrachm 
and fluidounce columns ; the glass should not be 
very thick, as, by refracting the light, it interferes 
with accuracy in the measurement of small quan- 
tities. Large measures, which are not to be used 
for quantities under an ounce, may be made of the 
form shown in Fig. 31. These are less liable to 
be broken by careless handling. One ounce gra- 
duates of this description are sometimes made for 
medicine-chests or saddle-bags where great economy 
of space is necessary. 




f~iv. graduated measure. 



Fig. 31. 




Medicine chest 
measure. 



MEASUEES — MOETAES. 



29 



Fig. 32. 




Minim Measures. — For the divisions of a fluidrachm, the minim 
measure is employed. This is usually an upright cylinder of glass, 
with a lip at one extremity, and a glass pedestal 
at the other, and is graduated from sixty minims 
(one fluidrachm) to five minims. The inconveni- 
ence of employing a measure of this kind has 
led to the use of drops in prescription, instead 
of minims, and as essential oils and spirituous 
liquids drop so differently from aqueous liquids, 
and as the same liquid drops very differently 
from different vessels, discrepancies are likely 
to occur, unless the dispenser sufficiently under- 
stands and observes the distinction. (See tables 
of approximate measurement in next chapter.) 

Tin Measures. — Tin and copper measures of 
half pint, one pint, or two pints capacity, will 
be found very useful to the dispensing physician. Minim measure. 

They may be used for water, alcohol, syrups, 
and most tinctures, whenever the full quantity they will contain is 
prescribed. 

Moetaes. — Mortars are necessary in so many processes of phar- 
macy, as to be among the most important items of an outfit. I 
shall describe the kinds usually sold, with their different uses, leav- 
ing to the physician the choice of one or more varieties, according 
to circumstances. 

Wedgewood mortars are imported from England, and an inferior 
quality of similar ware is made in this country. They differ some- 
what in their texture, though generally possessed of sufficient 
roughness to adapt them to the powdering of substances by tritura- 
tion. The best varieties are glazed enough to prevent their absorb- 
ing or becoming permanently stained by chemicals triturated in 
them, and yet are not so smooth as to allow substances to slip about 
instead of being retained under the pestle. At least one good 
wedgewood mortar is necessary. It should be of the shape indi- 
cated in Fig. 33, perfectly flat on its base, so that it will stand firm 
during the process, and furnished with a good lip. The pestle 
should be, in shape, precisely adapted to the interior surface of the 
mortar ; neither flattened nor pointed at its lower extremity, as is 
frequently the case. As the larger sized pestles always consist of 
two pieces, a wooden handle, and the rounded portion, which is of 
wedgewood ware, care should be taken to have the connection 
between them, which is made with cement, perfectly tight. When 
they become loosened, they may be secured by a cement made of 
resin, two parts ; yellow wax, one part ; and Spanish brown, three 
parts ; melted together by heat. 

For the purpose of solution, a porcelain mortar is convenient; 



30 



THE DISPENSING OFFICE. 



such are frequently more shallow than the wedgewood variety. 
They are perfectly smooth, and highly glazed, and are not liable to 
be stained by chemical substances dissolved in them. They will 



Fig. 33. 



Fis. 34. 




Wedgewood mortar and pestle. 

also be found convenient in preparing such ointments and cerates 
as require to be introduced into a mortar, being more readily 
cleansed than wedgewood ware. The one shown in Fig. 35 has a 
pestle of the same material. 

Fig. 35. 




Porcelain mortar. 



Glass mortars are frequently found in the office of the physician, 
and the shop of the apothecary. They are too soft as well as too 
smooth for use in reducing hard substances to powder. The prin- 
cipal use to which they are appropriate, is in forming solutions of 
readily soluble materials, and in making ointments. The small 



MORTAES. 31 

sizes are much employed in fitting up medicine-chests and medical 
saddle-bags. 

For large operations, as, for instance, in making syrup of bitter 
almonds, confection of roses, or mercurial ointment, a marble 
mortar is most convenient ; a perfect block of bard and close grained 
marble of requisite size, is cut out into a shape corresponding with 
that of the perfect wedgewood mortar, represented in Fig. 33. The 
pestle is made of the same material, fastened upon a long wooden 
handle, which may be projected into an iron ring above, secured 
properly over the centre of the mortar, so that while the operator 
gives the requisite grinding motion to the lower extremity of the 
pestle, the upper is held securely in its place. 

Mortars of the kinds described are not adapted to contusing sub- 
stances, either with a view to obtaining powders, or to employing 
them in a bruised condition. If used for this purpose, they are 
very apt to be broken on the first trial. 

For contusion, an iron, brass, or bell-metal mortar of the shape 
here shown is best suited. Unlike mortars for trituration, these 

Fig. 36. 




Mortar and pestle for contusion. 

are flat at bottom, and the pestles terminate in a flattened ball; they 
are tall in proportion to their diameter, as seen in the drawing. 

The laborious process of powdering drugs is greatly facilitated 
by the employment of mills ; some of the varieties of coffee and 
spice-mills met with in iron or hardware stores are exceedingly 
useful in the comminution of vegetable substances, for the prepara- 



32 



THE DISPENSING OFFICE. 



tion of tinctures, infusions, &c, and even, assisted with suitable 
sieves, in their reduction to powder. 

A very excellent mill, called Swift's drug-mill, is figured and de- 
scribed in the chapter on powdering. 

Fig. 37 represents a spice-mill, which will be found convenient 



Fig. 37. 




Spice-mill. 



where the drug is not too large to be introduced into it, in which 
case I use a stout pair of shears, a tobacco knife, or a large iron 
mortar, for its previous reduction. This has the advantage of being 
secured to a table by a clamp, so as to be removable at pleasure. 

To the physician who prepares his own powders, one or more 
sieves will be found very useful. The most permanent and desir- 
able kind is that made of wire gauze, though hair and bolting-cloth 
sieves are somewhat less costly. The latter answer very well if 
kept clear of moths ; a sieve with a covering at top and bottom is 
preferable. These coverings should be made of leather, stretched 
over hoops rather than of wood, which is liable to warp and crack. 

I shall have occasion to speak of the employment of coarse sieves 
in the preparation of powders for displacement, and need only 
mention them in this place, to refer to the article on displacement. 

Spatulas. — Of these there are several kinds. The plain steel 
spatula, or palette knife, shown in Fig. 40, is, perhaps, best 
adapted to the general purposes of dispensing. In selecting them, 
care should be taken to have one very flexible, and another quite 
stiff, while, of course, they should be of two or more sizes. The 
balance handle spatula (Fig. 39) is also useful in dispensing opera- 
tions, being generally reserved for folding powders, and for other 
neat manipulations. It has the merit of lying on the table or 



SPATULAS — PILL TILE AND PILL MACHINE. 



33 



counter without the blade coming in contact with it, a convenience 
when employed with pill masses or ointments. Three inch spa- 
tulas may be made with a tapering blade, as shown in Fig. 38, so 




as to allow of their being introduced into rather narrow-mouthed 
bottles, such as are usually put into saddle-bags. 

Spatulas of glass, ivory, and bone are sometimes, though rarely, 
employed. They are useful in manipulating with corrosive sub- 
stances which would act upon steel. 

A pill tile (Fig. 41), made of porcelain or queensware, is a useful 
utensil in preparing certain ointments and pills. Tiles are made of 
various sizes, and are sometimes graduated, as seen in the drawing, 
to facilitate the division of masses into twelve or twenty-four pills. 

The division of pill masses, however, is better accomplished by 
the aid of the machine, shown in the accompanying drawing. The 



Fig. 41. 



Fig. 42. 





Graduated pill tile. 



mode of using this most useful instrument, is described in the 
chapter on dispensing medicines. 
3 



34 



THE DISPENSING OFFICE. 



The funnel, sometimes called tunnel, is an article of every-day 
use in the dispensing shop or office. A porce- 
Fig. 43. lain or wedgewood funnel is represented in the 

plate. The sides should be straight, and at an 
angle of 60° to each other. The tube should 
be smallest at its lowest extremity, and should 
have one or more grooves upon its outer surface, 
to allow of the egress of air from a bottle, into 
the mouth of which it is fitted. Funnels which 
are grooved on their inner surface, are generally 
preferred for filtration, as allowing a more ready 
downward passage of the liquids, especially 
when the plain filter is employed. They may 
be made of glass, porcelain, Berlin or queens- 
The porcelain funnel, ware, and tin ; those of glass are generally fur- 
nished physicians in their outfits ; but the por- 
celain variety is far less liable to breakage, and is equally cleanly. 

The displacement apparatus is now almost indispensable to the 
physician who prepares his tinctures, infusions, &c. The kind best 
adapted to a physician's outfit is a tin tube, of about 8 inches long, 
and 8| inches in diameter, terminated by a funnel, and containing 
one or two perforated diaphragms, fitting loosely into the tube, so as 
to be readily removed for cleaning (Figs. 44 and 45). There is also 




Fig. 44. 



Fig. 45. 



Fig. 46. 



Fig. 47. 





Tin displacers, with upper and lower 
diaphragm. 



Porcelain displacer, with two 
diaphragms. 



a kind made of porcelain or earthenware resembling the preceding 
in shape, and containing diaphragms of the same material (Figs. 46 
and 47). Under the head of the displacement process, the mode of 
preparing and using apparatus of this kind is more fully described. 

Vials. — The physician's outfit usually contains from a half gross 
to a gross of prescription vials, varying in size from f^viij to f Jss. 



VIALS. 



35 



As more of the smaller sizes are used than of the others, it is desir- 
able to have about the following proportions in a gross : One doz. 
fSviij, one doz. f^vj, two doz. f^iv, three doz. f lij, three doz. f^j, 
two doz. f Iss. Several of the larger sizes should have wide mouths, 
for convenience in bottling solid substances, and also to adapt to the 
displacement apparatus. Vials in commerce are classified as flint, 
German flint, and green glass ; as fluted and plain ; and as long and 
short. Flint vials are considerably more expensive than the green, 
though they are far more elegant for prescription purposes. They 
are generally made in a mould. Of the fluted vials, the long (Fig. 
48) are the most convenient for ordinary purposes ; they admit of 
a larger label being pasted on them, which is sometimes desirable 
in case of prescriptions, and they are more convenient for medicines 
that are to be administered by drops. 

Fig. 49 represents a short fluted vial of the same size, and having 
a wide mouth, adapting it to solid substances. Fig. 50 is a flint 



Fig. 48. 



Fig. 49. 




Fig. 50. 

IK 



Fluted long prescription vial, 
of flint glass. 



Wide-mouth flint fluted 
vial. 



Plain prescription vial, of 
flint glass. 



vial, now very much in vogue, intermediate between the two pre- 
ceding in height, and without the fluted surface ; these are apt to 
show a crease down their whole length, at the point where the two 
halves of the mould, in which they are made, come together in 
shutting it, a common feature in all bottles made in moulds, which 



Fig. 51. 



JX 



Fig. 52 



u 



Fig. 53. 



J\ 



Plain German flint vial. 



Old fashioned long green 
vial. 



Short prescription vial, green 
glass. 



open and shut by what may be called a lateral suture. Figs. 51, 52, 
and 53 represent vials blown without a mould, or in an open clay 



36 THE DISPENSING OFFICE. 

mould, and finished by hand. These have a handsomer and smoother 
surface, though less regular and uniform in shape, as here the shape 
depends on the skill of the finisher, not the construction of his tools. 
German glass vials are intermediate in price, between those of flint 
and common green glass. They are very well adapted to ordinary 
dispensing purposes, and, as made by our best manufacturers, leave 
little to desire. 

The shape of the lip is one of the most important considerations 
in the selection of vials ; if the lip is too narrow and rounded, a 
constant source of annoyance will occur, from the liquid trickling 
down the neck and sides of the vial after pouring from it, and it will 
be impossible to drop from it at all. Figs. 52 and 53 represent the 
old fashioned cheap green glass blown vials ; that shown in Fig. 52 
has the disadvantage of not standing up, and is usually suspended 
by a string. 

Corks. — These are exceedingly variable in quality; the softest 
and most perfectly shaped varieties are expensive, and sometimes 
difficult to procure. This remark is especially true of the larger 
sizes, called bottle corks ; of these we have pint corks, quart corks, 
demijohn corks, and flat or pot corks; the last being used chiefly 
for wide-mouth packing bottles and earthen jars. It is well for 
the physician to be supplied with a few of these, though vial 
corks constitute by far the largest proportion of the whole number 
required. 

Paper of different kinds should not be overlooked in making up 
an outfit. The most useful are druggist's white wrapping-paper, 
which should be fine without being heavy, or spongy in its texture; 
it should not crack at the edges when turned over sharply. The 
sizes met with in commerce are medium, about 19 x 24 inches, and 
double medium, 24 x 38 inches. For directions in regard to divid- 
ing the sheets, for dispensing medicines in packages, see chapter on 
dispensing. The kind of paper called flat cap will be found very 
convenient in addition to the above, for putting up powders, espe- 
cially in very small doses. 

Filtering paper should be without color, and of a porous texture, 
and yet sufficiently firm to sustain the weight of the liquid placed 
upon it. 

Fancy paper, employed for capping corks, or as a very nice outer 
wrapping to packages, is recommended to those who expect to 
observe neatness and elegance in dispensing. Tin-foil will also be 
required by such for covering jars of ointment, &c. 

Pill Boxes. — These are of three kinds : 1st. Paper pill boxes, which 
are adapted to dispensing pills. 2d. Wooden pill boxes, or chip 
boxes, made of shavings, and best suited for ointments, confections, 
&c; of this article, a very beautiful style is imported from England, 



METROLOGY. 37 

which commands nearly double the price of the American kind. 
3. Turned boxes. These have been recently introduced for dis- 
pensing pills, and are certainly more substantial than either paper 
or chip boxes. They do not, however, serve so good a purpose for 
ointments, the bottom, being cut across the grain of the wood, soon 
becomes saturated with the grease, and soils everything it is set 
upon. Pill boxes are usually sold by the dozen nests, wrapped in 
paper. Sometimes a nest contains three, and sometimes four boxes, 
ranging from about an ounce capacity to one-fourth that size. 

The physician should provide himself with a tin case, in the 
shape of a closed cylinder, in which to carry his gum catheters and 
bougies, and another for adhesive plaster cloth, which otherwise will 
soon become useless in our climate. 

The other items to be mentioned are a few pieces of fine Turkey 
sponge for surgical use, and one for the inhalation of ether, if a 
friend to anaesthesia in surgery and obstetrics. A corkscrew, a ball of 
fine linen twine, a pair of scissors, a few coarse towels for wiping 
mortars, a tin cup for heating liquids, a sheepskin for spreading 
plasters, &c. 

The apparatus and furniture here described, are such as may be 
regarded as necessary to the outfit of a country practitioner. I 
shall find occasion to refer to many implements in the subsequent 
parts of this work which it would be superfluous to describe in this 
place, though frequently included in the outfit. 



CHAPTER II. 

ON WEIGHTS AND MEASURES, AND SPECIFIC GRAVITY. 

Metrology embraces the science of determining the bulk, or 
extension of substances, called measurement, and their gravitating 
force, called weight, and the relation of these to each other, called 
specific gravity. 

In the present essay, it is not designed to enter into the subject 
further than is necessary to the student of medicine and pharmacy ; 
and hence I shall avoid all investigations into the origin of the 
standards of measurement and weight in use in this country and 
in England, a subject which is full of difficulty and complexity, and 
refer the reader to an able essay on its historical bearings, compiled 
by the late Dr. Benjamin Ellis (see American Journal of Pharmacy, 
vol. ii. pp. Ill and 188), from the Report on Weights and Measures, 
made by Hon. J. Quincy Adams, when Secretary of State, to the 
U. S. Senate in 1821. 



38 WEIGHTS AND MEASUKES, AND SPECIFIC GKAVITY. 

Weights and Measuees. — So difficult has it been found to 
modify or materially alter the systems of measurement and weight 
handed down from the earliest antiquity, and tenaciously adhered 
to by the mass of the people, and so inadequate have been the 
efforts of the British Crown and Parliament to supply proper and 
invariable standards, that the present Troy and Avoirdupois weights 
are believed to be even less perfect and consistent with each other 
than the very ancient standards from which they were derived. The 
inconveniences attendant on the use of separate sets of weights 
and measures for different kinds of commodities, has probably 
always been felt, and is only partially remedied by adapting these 
to one common unit to which all can be reduced. This adaptation, 
in the case of our different standards, is through the grain or unit 
of weight. The systems of Troy, Apothecaries', and Avoirdupois 
weights, and of wine measure, which are in most common use in 
this country, are all readily compared through this common standard 
— the grain. 

Troy Weight is used by jewellers, and at the mints, in the exchange 
of the precious metals. Its denominations are the pound, ounce, 
pennyweight (= 24 grs.), and grain. 

Apothecaries' Weight is used by apothecaries and physicians in 
mixing and prescribing medicines, and is officinal in the United 
States, London, and Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias (not in that of 
Dublin). In buying and selling medicines, not ordered by pre- 
scription, the avoirdupois weight is used. 

The denominations of the apothecaries' weight are pounds, ounces, 
drachms or drams, scruples, and grains. Its pound, ounce, and 
grain, correspond with the Troy weight. 

Avoirdupois Weight is used in general commerce, and by apothe- 
caries in their strictly commercial transactions, as in buying and 
selling medicines without the prescription of a physician, and also 
in compounding recipes for domestic purposes, and for use in the 
arts. Its higher denominations need not be named. As at present 
used, it has pounds, ounces, and fractions of the ounce. 

Synonyms. — The names given above may be substituted, with 
advantage, by officinal for the apothecaries', and commercial for the 
avoirdupois, as more definite, and less likely to be confounded in 
the mind of the student. 

A knowledge of these, and of their relations to each other, is of 
the highest degree of importance to the physician and apothecary, 
and, for want of giving due attention to them at the outset, many 
students are continually confused in the practice of pharmacy. 

In the following table, I have endeavored to display, in the sim- 
plest and most comprehensive manner, the value of each denomina- 
tion in the respective weights, and the relation of these to each 
other : — 



SCALES AND WEIGHTS. 39 

Table of the Officinal Weights (Apothecaries'). 

20 grains = 9i (one scruple) = gr. xx. 

60 grains = 3i (one drachm) = 9iij (3 scruples). 

480 grains = Ij (one ounce) = 5viii (8 drachms). 

5,760 grams = Ebi (one pound, IT. S.P.) = §xii (12 ounces). 

Table of Commercial Weights (Avoirdupois). 

437.5 grains = 1 oz. (one ounce). 

7,000 grains = lib (one pound, Com.) = 16 oz. 

Table of the Value of Officinal in Commercial Weights. 

3j (officinal) = 1 oz. (commercial) + 42.5 grs., or about 9ij. 
Sij " =2 oz. " + 85 grs. " 5iss. 

fti " = 13 oz. " + 72.5 grs. " gi. 

The use of signs is here seen to be of importance, as designating, 
when correctly used, to which system of weights the particular de- 
nomination refers ; thus, Ij means 480 grains — the officinal ounce ; 
while 1 oz. means 437.5 grains — the commercial ounce. The sign 
for designating the pound is not so distinctive; Ebi is applied equally 
to the officinal pound, 5,760 grains, and to the commercial, 7,000 
grains ; so that, when a doubt may arise as to which is intended, 
the prefix U.S. P. would be well adapted to designate the officinal, 
and Com. or Av., the commercial. 

The comparative value of the different parallel denominations may 
be thus expressed : — 

The officinal ounce contains 42 J grains more than the commer- 
cial. 

The officinal pound contains 1,240 grains less than the commer- 
cial. Or, thus : — 

The officinal has the largest ounce, and the commercial has the 
largest pound, the former containing 3xij (each 480 grains) in a 
pound, and the latter 16 ounces (each 437.5 grains) in a pound. 
Or thus : — 

480 x 12 = 5,760 (officinal). 
437.5 x 16 = 7,000 (commercial). 

Scales and Weights. — The balance, or scales, is of course indis- 
pensable to the idea of metrology, and the possession of masses of 
previously ascertained gravitating force, called weights, is equally 
necessary. Scales are of various styles, although, for use in phar- 
macy, the simple kinds figured among the necessary implements for 
furnishing the physician's office, answer every purpose. In this 
place, it will be proper to call attention especially to the usual forms 
of vjeights of the different systems. The apothecaries' weights are 
invariably, for all denominations, made of brass or copper. The 
larger weights come in the cup form, as shown in Fig. 54. Each cup 
is equal to the sum of all those which fit in it, or is twice the sum of 



the next smaller. These weights are expensive, and, unfortunately, 
too little used by physicians, and even by some apothecaries. The 

Fig. 54. 




Fig. 55. 



Series of apothecaries' or cup weights. 

small weights which accompany the box scales, and which are 
figured, in the last chapter, are used for all denominations up to 2 
drachms, and then the common commercial or avoirdupois weights, 
which are cheaper than the brass cup weights, are frequently 
brought into play. 

These are usually in piles of iron, brass, or zinc, of the form shown 
in the annexed figure, each weight being half that 
of the one below it. The table of the value of the 
officinal in the commercial weights given on the 
last page, is designed to indicate a ready means of 
executing the officinal formulas with the common 
commercial, and small officinal weights. In a large 
number of processes, one ounce, or two ounces, are 
ordered, and in these cases, if the avoirdupois 
weight is used, a 9ij or 3j, and 3ss weight must 
be added from the small set. In the case of a 
pound being ordered, as there shown, 13 ounces 
from the pile, and a 3j from the small set, will nearly approximate 
the required weight. 

Measures of capacity are used for liquids, and, in the higher de- 
nominations, for corn and the cereal grains, but the only table of 
these we need present is that employed in medicine, called Wine 
Measure. The unit of this system has no convenient relation to 
the unit of the systems of weight; it is called a minim, and is equal 
to about .95 of a grain of pure water at 60° F. 

Table of the Officinal, or Wine Measure. 




Commercial or avoir- 
dupois weights. 



60 minims = f.^j 
480 " = f Sj 
7,680 " = Oj 
61,440 " = Cong, j 



(one fluidrachm) = tt^ lx = grains of water 56.9 

(one fluidounce) = f^viij = " " 455.6 

(one pint) = fgxvj = " " 7,291.1 

(one gallon) = Oviij = " " 58,328.8 



Or, thus : — 

60 minims are one fluidrachm. 

8 fluidrachms are one fluidounce. 
16 fluidounces are one pint. 

2 pints are one quart. 

4 quarts are one gallon. 

Besides the discrepancy occasioned by the minim not being 



GKADUATED MEASUEES. 



41 



equal to one grain of the natural liquid standard, it will be per- 
ceived at once that a wide variance exists in the denominations 
above an ounce. The fluidounce contains 480 minims, as the offi- 
cinal ounce contains that number of grains ; but, in the pint, are 16 
fluidounces, while the corresponding pound contains only 12 ounces. 
From these causes, the adjustment of proportions of solids to liquids, 
when accuracy is required, is a matter of no little calculation. In 
England, this system of measures has been revised of latter years, 
so as to bring about a close relation between the solid commercial 
ounce and the fluidounce. In the imperial measure, the minim is 
equal to .91 of a grain, and it is multiplied as follows : — 

Imperial Measure. 
(one fluidrachm) = tt\, lx = grains of water 54.6 



60 minims = f3.j 

480 " = f 3J (one fluidounce) = f svnj = 

9,600 " = Oj (one pint) = f § xx = 

76,800 " = Cong, j (one gallon) = Oviij = 



437.5 

8,750* 

70,000 



Graduated measures of Oj, Oviij, flyj, f liv, f^ij, f^j, f3j capa- 
city are manufactured and sold by druggists ; these are sometimes 
quite inaccurate, but may be readily verified by balancing them on 
the scales, and gradually adding pure water until the required 
weight in grains, as shown in the table, is 
attained. In the same way we may graduate 
our own measures, marking the denomina- 
tions by the following ready process. 

Having coated one side of the glass with a 
thin coating of wax, balance it on the scales, 
adjust the weights, and add the required num- 
ber of grains of pure water, observing to add 
it drop by drop toward the last; as soon as the 
weight is accurately counterpoised, remove it 
to a level table or counter, so high that it will 
be on a line with the eye, and carefully, with 
the point of a pin, mark the line formed by 
the surface of the liquid, and opposite this the 
appropriate sign ; this may be rendered more 
clear and distinct afterwards. In the same way mark the various 
other denominations, having an eye to the temperature, which 
should not vary far from 60°. Now form a paste, by mixing a 
sufficient quantity of finely powered fluor-spar with sulphuric acid, 
and spread this over the marked surfaces, and set the measure aside 
for a day or two, after which, wash it off and remove the wax; the 
graduated measure is now indelibly and distinctly marked, and, if 
we have used the proper care, more accurately than is usual with 
those sold. I have compared two, in which the one fluidrachm 
mark of one corresponded nearly with the two fluidrachm of the 
other, and in other respects they were almost as much at variance. 




f^iv grad. measure. 



Equal to 1 lb. 4 oz. avoirdupois -weight. 



42 WEIGHTS AND MEASUEES, AND SPECIFIC GEAVITY. 



A precaution to be observed, whether in graduating or using a 
measure, particularly of small capacity, may be appropriately men- 
tioned here. 

Owing to the adhesion of the liquid to the sides of the measure, 
its surface is concave, and shows, from a side view, 
Fig. 57. two lines : one where the edge of the liquid adheres 

cz^-} to the glass, and the other, the line of the lower 

| I surface of the concavity. Now, in order to fix the 

true line in this case, it must be intermediate between 
the upper and lower edge of the liquid, and not at 
either surface. This is more obvious the smaller 
the diameter of the measure, and, in the accom- 
panying drawing, the dotted line has been made at 
the proper point for measurement. 

Approximate Measurement. — The approximate stand- 
ards of measurement are very inaccurate, but they 
have no wider range than the doses of medicines, so 
that they are for the most part satisfactory. The 
following table exhibits those in common use : — 




A gill mug, or teacupful 
A wineglassful 
A tablespoonful 
A dessertspoonful . 
A teaspoonful 
A drop 



. f.5iv. 

. mi. 

. fsss. 

. f3ij. 
• f5j. . 

from §- to 1J minims. 



Of the above, it may be remarked that the wineglassful is fre- 
quently less than 2 fluidounces, although the champagne glass is 
nearer 4 fluidounces. I have observed that the modern teaspoons 
are larger than formerly, and that the more expensive silver spoons 
are larger than those of common metal of the same nominal size. 

The size of drops varies from various causes, of which the nature 
of the liquid, the size and shape of the lip of the vessel from which 
dropped, and the extent to which the lip is moistened, are the most 
important. The following lists of liquids, with the number of 
drops in a fluidrachm, may be considered as furnishing good ap- 
proximations to the relative size of their drops : — 

Three lists are appended : 1st. That by Elias Durand, originally 
published in the Journal of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, 
vol. i. p. 169, and copied into most of our standard works; from 
this I have omitted several items, on account of their standard 
strength having been very much altered since the period of his 
experiments. 2d. That of Prof. Procter, published in the tenth 
edition of the United States Dispensatory, and confined to different 
essential oils. 3d and 4th. Lists I have prepared as the result of my 
own observations, chiefly confined to medicines not included in the 
foregoing. 



APPROXIMATE MEASUREMENT. 



43 



1st. DurancCs Table of the number of Drops of different Liquids 


equivalent to a fluidrachm. 




DROPS. 


] 


DROPS. 


Acid, acetic, crystallizable 


120 


Tinctures of assafcetida, foxglove 




" hydrocyanic, medicinal . 


45 


guaiacum, and opium . 


120 


" muriatic .... 


54 


Tincture of chloride of iron . 


132 


" nitric ..... 


84 


Vinegar, distilled . 


78 


" sulphuric .... 


yo 


" of colchicum . 


78 


" " aromatic . 


120 


" of squill . 


78 


Alcohol 


138 


Water, distilled 


45 


" diluted .... 


120 


" of ammonia, strong 


54 


Arsenite of potassa, solution of 


57 


" " weak 


45 


Ether, sulphuric .... 


150 


Wine, Teneriffe 


78 


Oils of aniseed, cinnamon, cloves, 




" antimonial . 


72 


peppermint, sweet almonds, and 




" of colchicum 


75 


olives 


120 


" of opium 


78 



2d. Procter's Table of the number of Drops to a fluidrachm of Essential 
Oil, as dropped A, from the bottles from which they are commonly 
dispensed, and B, from a minim measure. 



Oleum anisi 
" cari 



caryophylli 

chenopodii 

cinnamomi 

cubebse 

foeniculi 

gaultherise 

hedeomse . 



A. B. 

85 86 
106 108 
103 103 

97 100 

100 102 

86 96 
103 103 
102 101 

91 91 



Oleum menthse pip. 


103 


109 


" " viridis . 


89 


94 


" rosmarini . 


104 


105 


" sabinse 


102 


108 


" sassafras . 


102 


100 


" tanaceti . 


92 


111 


" Valerianae . 


116 


110 


Creasotum 


95 


91 



Sd. Table of the number of Drops of different Liquids equivalent to f3j, 
as dropped from pint and half pint tincture bottles, and from a minim 
measure. Thermometer 80° F. — E. Parrish. 

Those marked av. are averages of several droppings. 

FROM 'H MEASURE. FROM Oj OR OSS TR. 

Acetum opii 69 90 

Acidum aceticum (commercial) .... 102 73 

" " dilutum, av. . . . . . 52.5 55 

" nitricum dilutum 44 62 

" sulphuricum dilutum .... 49 54 

" " aromaticum .... 148 116 

'" hydrocyanicum dilutum, av. . . . 52 * 

Alcohol 143 118 

dilutum, av 124.5 98 

Aqua, av 46 64.5 

Chloroformum, av 276.5 ■ 180 

Extractum Valerianae, Fid 126 115 

Glycerina (first dropping) 135 53 

' " av. 84.7 55 

Infusion digitalis, av 60 62.5 

Liquor ammonise 62 49 

" iodinii compositus 75 75 

1 From f|i Tr. bot. 53. 



44 WEIGHTS AND MEASURES, AND SPECIFIC GRAVITY. 

FROM TTL MEASURE. FROM Oj OR OSS TR. 

Liquor hydrarg. et arsen. iodid 52 52 

" potassae arsenitis ..... 63 60 

Oleum menthas viridis, old 103 110 

" olivae 99 76 

" tiglii . 92 80 

Spiritus aetheris nitrici 148 90 

" " compositus 140 90 

Syrupus acaciae 56 58 

sciUse 88 85 

Tinctura aconiti radicis 130 118 

ferri chloridi 151 106 

iodinii 144 113 

opii ........ 147 106 

" " camphorata 110 95 

tolutani 138 120 

Vinum antimonii, av 84 62 

" opii 92 78 

4:th. Number of Drops of Water equivalent to f3j dropped from fsj 
vials. 

1st trial 34. 2d trial 48. 3d trial 32. 4th trial 48. 

5th trial 60. 6th trial 50. 7th trial 65. Average 48.1. 

The drop machines here figured, are contrived to obviate, to a 

certain extent, the inequalities given in the above table ; they are 



Fig. 58. 



Fig. 59. 





Bottle with drop machine. 



not generally known, though quite useful to the physician and 
apothecary who has occasion to drop a large number of drops in 
succession. Their construction will be obvious from the draw- 
ing. A perforated cork with a tube, either of glass or metal, 
drawn out to a small orifice, and a capillary tube of metal passing 
above the surface of the liquid in the inverted bottle, so as to 
supply air to the vacuum created by the liquid as it drops out, con- 
stitutes all that is essential to the apparatus. 



SPECIFIC GKAVITY. 45 

Specific Gkavity. — In accordance with the general plan of this 
work, I shall endeavor to simplify this subject, and to divest it of 
unnecessary details, so as to leave no excuse to the student for ne- 
glecting to acquaint himself with it, so far as it is necessarily con- 
nected with his pursuits. In all chemical works, the subject of 
specific gravity is treated of as related to solids, liquids, and gases, 
but inasmuch as we seldom are under the necessity of trying the 
specific gravity of solids or gases except in experimental research, 
and as this text-book is designed merely to direct the practitioner 
of medicine and pharmacy in the every-day pursuits of his office or 
shop, I shall confine this essay to the specific gravity of liquids, 
which is the easiest and most useful branch of the general subject. 

It has been said at the commencement of this chapter that while 
extension and gravitation or weight, are each capable of a separate 
standard of measurement, it is impossible to bring, them to a com- 
mon standard — they are only capable of being compared with each 
other. To this comparison of the quantity of matter with its exten- 
sion, we direct our attention under the head of specific gravity. 

If we take a vial which will hold an ounce of water by weight, 
we find it will hold about an ounce and a-half of nitric acid, and 
about three-quarters of an ounce of ether ; hence we may say, ap- 
proximately, that nitric acid is twice as heavy as ether, or that it is 
half as heavy again as water, while ether is only three-quarters as 
heavy. We thus compare these two liquids with a common standard, 
and one which, being universally diffused in a state of tolerable 
purity, furnishes the most ready means of comparing solid or liquid 
substances together. The relation which the weight of a substance 
bears to that of water is, therefore, called its specific gravity. Water 
being assumed as 1 in the illustration just given, nitric acid would 
be 1J or 1.5, and ether f or .75. Upon this principle we may 
ascertain the specific gravity of all liquids by having a bottle, the 
capacity of which is well and accurately determined, filling it with 
these various liquids at a certain normal temperature, ascertaining 
their weight, and by a simple calculation bringing them to this 
common standard. The specific gravity of substances, when accu- 
rately ascertained, constitutes one of the most important items in 
their history. In pharmacy, it is much employed to indicate the 
strength and purity of medicines, particularly acids, alcohol, the 
ethers, and essential oils ; and a physician is deficient in one of the 
most important aids to diagnosis who has not at hand the means of 
taking the specific gravity of urine. 

The apparatus for ascertaining the specific gravity of liquids are 
of two kinds: first, specific gravity bottles; and second, hydrome- 
ters, or loaded tubes which mark the density of liquids by the depth 
to which they sink in them, according to known and purely artificial 
standards. The most convenient specific gravity bottles are gradu- 
ated to hold 1,000 grains, or 100 grains of pure water at 60° F. 
Those made by Dr. W. H. Pile, of Philadelphia, are accurate and 



46 WEIGHTS AND MEASUKES, AND SPECIFIC GRAVITY. 



reliable ; they are of two kinds, stoppered and unstoppered ; the 
former are most approved: they are accompanied by a little counter- 



Fig. 60. 



Fig. 62. 




Fig. 61. 




Fig. 63. 



Stoppered specific gravity bottle, tin box, and counterpoise. 

poise to be placed on the opposite scale plate, which exactly balances 
the empty bottle, so that the weights which balance it when filled 
and placed on the scale indicate the weight of its contents. 

In filling the stoppered thousand grain bottle, it requires to be 
filled a little above the point in the neck to which the stopper will 
reach when replaced, so that this shall force out the air and a small 
portion of the liquid into the capillary tube drilled through it. The 
whole bottle is then wiped clean and dry, and weighed. The un- 
stoppered thousand grain bottle is marked by the scratch 
of a file opposite the point in the neck to which the 
liquid must reach: this line should be intermediate be- 
tween the upper and lower edge of the concave surface 
of the liquid in the neck when filled (see Fig. 57). The 
hundred grain bottles are of the same description, and 
used in the same way; they are convenient when only 
very small quantities can be obtained for testing, but 
are, of course, not quite so accurate. The particular 
merit of these bottles is, that the weight of a liquid, as 
obtained by filling them, expresses its specific gravity. 
The equation used is this : as the weight of a certain 
bulk of water is to the weight of the same bulk of the liquid being 
tested, so is the specific gravity of water, which is unity, to the 
specific gravity of the liquid; or, as 1,000 is to the weight of the 
liquid, so is 1 to the specific gravity of the liquid. Having obtained 




EXTEMPORANEOUS SPECIFIC GEAVITY BOTTLE. 47 

the weight of this quantity of a liquid, we have its specific gravity; 
attention being required to the decimal mark merely. If^ for in- 
stance, we fill the 1,000 grain bottle with alcohol, and find it weighs 
835 grains, we write its specific gravity .835, placing the decimal 
mark before the figures, because the weight is less than the unit 
adopted. If we fill it with chloroform, and find the weight to be 
1,490 grains, we state the specific gravity at 1.490, placing the 
decimal after the first figure; or, if we find it to hold 13,500 
grains of mercury, we state the specific gravity 13.5, the decimal 
being varied for obvious reasons, but no calculation being necessary 
to ascertain their relation to water. 

The specific gravity bottle I next proceed to describe does not 
exhibit the specific gravity of the liquid without a previous calcu- 
lation, but possesses the advantage of being cheap and extempora- 
neous, and, if carefully made, is nearly as accurate. 

Select a smooth and clean bottle, not too thick or clumsy, with a 
ground glass stopper ; after first filing down the side of the stopper 
a small groove to subserve the purpose of the capillary orifice in the 
stopper of the 1,000 grain bottle, adjust it to one or more weights 
which counterpoise it, and put these aside for that use. Now find, 
by several trials, the exact weight of water it will hold at the proper 
temperature, and mark this on the bottle, or on a paper in which it 
is constantly wrapped ; this is used in the same way as the 1,000 or 
100 grain bottle, except that it is necessary to make a calculation 
after each weighing, to ascertain the specific gravity of the liquid. 
Suppose it to be a fsss bottle, and to contain, say 242.5 grains of pure 
water, and the liquids tested to have weighed 256 grains; now, to 
ascertain its specific gravity, a sum must be made as above stated : 
as the weight of a certain bulk of water is to the weight of the 
same bulk of this liquid so is the specific gravity of water to the 
specific gravity of this liquid : — 

242.5 : 256 : : 1 : 1.055, or thus -^=.=1 055. 

242.5 

I have, though rarely, been able to select flss bottles, which, by 
modifying their size by filing the stopper, would hold exactly 250 

grains, or — — , so that it was only necessary to divide the ascer- 
tained weight by 4 to get the specific gravity. This plan of taking the 
specific gravity is so much more accurate than that by hydrometers, 
that these extemporaneous or home-made bottles, when well made, 
and used with good scales, are more to be relied on than the best 
hydrometers. These rarely mark with precision more than the 
second decimal, which is reached without difficulty with a bottle, 
even when the scales do not indicate the fractions of a grain: 
unstoppered specific gravity bottles are still more readily made. 

The greatest practical difficulty in accurately adjusting a specific 
gravity bottle, and in taking the specific gravity of liquids, has rela- 
tion to the temperature. The proper temperature for liquids to be 



48 WEIGHTS AND MEASUEES, AND SPECIFIC GRAVITY. 



measured by the specific gravity bottle is 60° Fahrenheit's scale, 
which at certain seasons of the year, in our climate, is readily attain- 
able, but in hot weather the temperature of water will reach 90° or 
more; the dew-point then rises above 60°, so that if the water be 
brought to that temperature artificially and put into the bottle, the 
moisture deposited upon the outside of the bottle while weighing it 
will sensibly increase its weight. In order to obviate this difficulty, 
it is more convenient to have tables giving the variations of specific 
gravity by elevation or depression of temperature. The tables of 
this description now in use are very unsatisfactory and conflicting, 
and have led Dr. Pile to attempt an original table, founded upon 
many hundred trials at all temperatures from 50° to 93°. This he 
has kindly furnished me for publication. The utility of this table 
in verifying the accuracy of the specific gravity bottle at any tem- 
perature will be apparent. 

It may be remarked that as the glass bottle itself expands and 
contracts, experiment has shown it will contain about .013 grains 
more for every degree above 60°, and as much less below it. In 
weighing liquids above or below that temperature, we do not 
obtain directly the true specific gravity, but the conjoined result of 
the expansion or contraction of the water and the glass bottle. If 
the actual specific gravity is sought, it will be necessary to make 
the proper corrections both for the liquid on trial and for the glass 
bottle. This has been done in the following table. 1 

Table of Apparent Specific Gravity of Water as observed in a Glass 
Bottle at different temperatures; also its true Specific Gravity. By 
W. H. Pile, M.D. 





Sp. Gr. in 






Sp. Gr. in 




Temp. Fahr. 


Glass Bottles. 


True Sp. Gr. 


Temp. Fahr. 


Glass Bottles. 


True Sp. Gr. 


50° 


1000.54 


1000.67 


72 


998.94 


998.78 


51 


1000.50 


1000.62 


73 


998.83 


998.66 


52 


1000.46 


1000.56 


74 


998.72 


998.53 


53 


1000.41 


1000.50 


75 


998.60 


998.40 


54 


1000.36 


1000.44 


76 


998.48 


998.27 


55 


1000.30 


1000.37 


77 


998.35 


998.13 


56 


1000.25 


1000.30 


78 


998.22 


997.99 


57 


1000.20 


1000.23 


79 


998.08 


997.84 


58 


1000.14 


1000.16 


80 


997.94 


997.68 


59 


1000.07 


1000.08 


81 


997.79 


997.52 


GO 


1000.00 


1000.00 


82 


997.64 


997.36 


61 


999.92 


999.91 


83 


997.49 


997.20 


62 


999.84 


999.82 


84 


997.35 


997.04 


63 


999.72 


999.72 


85 


997.20 


996.87 


64 


999.68 


999.63 


86 


996.94 


996.60 


65 


999.60 


999.53 


87 


996.78 


996.43 


66 


999.51 


999.43 


88 


996.62 


996.26 


67 


999.42 


999.33 


89 


996.46 


996.08 


68 


999.33 


999.23 


90 


996.29 


995.90 


69 


999.24 


999.12 


91 


996.12 


995.72 


70 


999.14 


999.01 


92 


995.96 


995.54 


71 


999.04 


998.90 


93 


995.79 


995.36 



1 For tables showing the variation in specific gravity of alcohol by changes of tem- 
perature, see Booth's Encyclopaedia of Chemistry, Art. Alcoholometry, Tab. III. and IV. 



HYDEOMETEES. 49 

Hydeometees. — These are instruments designed to be plunged 
into liquids to ascertain their comparative density or specific gravity: 
although not capable of the same accuracy as the specific gravity 
bottles above described, they have the advantage of great conve- 
nience, and answer well for approximate results. 

The application of this instrument depends upon the well ascer- 
tained law that a body immersed in any liquid sustains a pressure 
from below upwards equal to the weight of the volume of the liquid 
displaced by such body, and the use of the hydrometer dates back 
to the discovery of that principle, a period about three hundred 
years before the Christian era. 

Hydrometers are now named with reference to the class of liquids 
for which they are designed, and to the scale upon which graduated. 
The kinds most sold in this country are imported; they are called 
Baume^s hydrometers or areometers, sometimes saccharometers, 
when adapted to the measurement of syrups; acidometers, to acids; 
also elseometers for oils, and urinometers for urine. 

Cartier's hydrometer, which is somewhat used in France, is only 
applicable for light liquids ; it is a modification of Baume's Pe'se 
Esprit, and, having some points in the scale which correspond, is 
generally confounded with it. Without intending to confuse the 
student with unnecessary details, I shall give in a few words the 
method of obtaining the standards on the respective scales, and the 
mode of converting them into specific gravity and the reverse rule, 
omitting the tables, which will be found in the Dispensatory and the 
chemical works. 

Baumd had two instruments, one for liquids heavier than water, 
and one for liquids lighter than water ; the former called Pese Acide, 
or Pese Sirop, and the latter Pese Esprit. 

The zero for heavy liquids was water, and the point to which the 
instrument would sink in a solution containing fifteen per cent, of 
salt was marked 15°. The interval doubled gave 30°, the next 45°, 
and so on. The zero for lighter liquids, or pese esprit, was obtained 
by immersing the tube in water containing 10 per cent, of salt in 
solution, and the point to which it would sink in pure water he 
made 10°; dividing the stem into like intervals, he obtained 20°, 
30°, &c, the intermediate degrees by subdivision. 

Now it will be at once perceived that the slightest error made in 
obtaining the first interval by this process becomes increased in 
every extension, so that with all care and precaution to insure 
accuracy, scarcely any two instruments could be made to correspond 



This mode of graduating hydrometers has long since been super- 
seded by the equally practicable and more accurate method of 
obtaining the specific gravity of two known liquids at a certain 
fixed temperature. These are placed at the extremes of the scale, 
and the intermediate space is accurately subdivided into the requisite 
number of degrees. 
4 



50 ON WEIGHTS AND MEASURES, AND SPECIFIC GRAVITY. 

The liquids ordinarily used for this purpose are, for liquids 
heavier than water, sulphuric acid and water; for those lighter than 
water, ether (highly rectified) and water. The specific gravity of 
these being of course ascertained before each trial by a standard 
hydrometer, or by the use of the 1000 grain bottle, but authorities 
are not agreed precisely in fixing their specific gravities, so that 
even the most accurate manipulators are liable to error from this 
fact, unless by having a common definite rule accuracy is ascer- 
tained. Another difficulty in regard to Baume's hydrometers as 
usually imported, is, that they are marked by arbitrary numbers, 
which have no necessary connection with the specific gravity, and 
they can only be used with facility when access can be had to the 
tables published in chemical works, in which the degrees of 
Baume, with their corresponding specific gravity numbers are 
represented. 

The following simple formula has been contrived for the purpose 
of finding the specific gravity of any liquid, the degree of Baume 
being known, or the reverse. 

For Liquids heavier than Water. 

1. To reduce Baume to sp. gr. Subtract the degree of Baumd 
from 145, and divide into 145 ; the quotient is the specific gravity. 

2. To reduce specific gravity into Baume. Divide the specific 
gravity into 145, and subtract from 145 ; the remainder is the 
degree of Baume. 

For Liquids lighter than Water. 

1. To reduce Baume to sp. gr. Add the number of the degree 
to 130, and divide into 140; the quotient is the sp. gr. 

2. To reduce sp. gr. to Baume. Divide the sp. gr. into 140, 
and subtract 130 from the quotient; the remainder will be the de- 
gree of Baume. In this manner, the tables at the end of this 
article were calculated. 

The rationale of this formula is more difficult to understand than 
its application. The modulus or constant number here used, is the 
proportion which the space of one degree (or the bulk which one 
degree occupies) bears to the space or bulk of the whole hydrome- 
ter below the water line. 

Or, it may be stated to be the proportion, which the weight of 
water displaced by the hydrometer when floating in water, bears 
to the weight of water equal in bulk to one degree. 

For example, suppose the weight of a hydrometer to be 200 grs., 
it is floated in water and marks the water line (10° B. in pese es- 
prit, or 0° B. in pese acide); now to sink it one degree in the first 
case, T ^ n of its weight must be added, or 1.428 grs.; 140 is there- 
fore the modulus of the scale for light liquids ; in the other case, 
we must withdraw T ^ 5 of its weight, or 1.38 grs., to enable the 



HYDROMETERS. 



51 



Pig. 64. 



hydrometer to rise one degree ; 145 is therefore the modulus of the 
pese acide : from this it will appear that the modulus determines 
the size of the degrees. That here presented was selected (as most 
consistent with the practice of manufacturing chemists, and accord- 
ing with the tables published in the United States Dispensatory) by 
Henry Pemberton, Practical Chemist, of this city, to whose able 
article showing the inconsistency of the standards in use, published 
in the American Journal of Pharmacy, vol. xxiv. p. 1, the reader 
is referred. 

The inconvenience of an arbitrary scale, as that of Baume', has 
long been felt, and has led to the manufacture of the new style ot 
hydrometer which is here figured; these have the 
scale of Baume, with the actual specific gravity cor- 
responding to it written opposite each other on the 
tube. 

This article, as manufactured by Dr. "W. H. Pile, 
before referred to, is unexceptionable. He makes a 
large size containing two in a series, one for liquids 
heavier, and the other for liquids lighter than water, 
each having an extensive range, and also a small size 
consisting of two for light, and three for heavy liquids. 
The advantage of the series of five small instruments 
is, that the scales having a much less range, are capa- 
ble of exhibiting more accurately slight differences 
in sp. gr. than in the other case. In the drawing, 
one of the large instruments is exhibited, considera- 
bly reduced in size; and as the scales with the two 
sets of figures could not be represented in a single 
view of the tube, the printer has appended on either 
side the figures representing the degree of Baume', 
and a part of those representing the sp. gr. 

Besides these hydrometers, Dr. Pile makes others 
for special applications, and graduated to suit particu- 
lar objects; one of the most curious of these is the 
Lactometer, for the measurement of milk, which, as 
we get it in large cities, is liable to adulteration, and 
especially to dilution with water. Pure milk has the 
average sp. gr. 1.032, skim milk 1.037. 

Of all the practical applications of the art of deter- 
mining specific gravity, none is more important and 
interesting than its use in ascertaining the qualities water 
of urine. The urinometer is the most delicate of this 
class of instruments ; it is a hydrometer tube with a very small 
range only, going from 1.000 to 1.060 specific gravity; within these 
limits, all the variations of urine from its normal standard may be 
ascertained. So delicate are these determinations, that the varia- 
tions of temperature, important in all cases, here require special 
attention ; and accordingly many of the urinometers are accom- 



.972 
1000 



Hydrometer for 
liquids lighter than 



52 ON WEIGHTS AND MEASURES, AND SPECIFIC GRAVITY. 

panied by a little thermometer to be plunged into the urine simul- 
taneously with the tube ; sometimes the thermometer is inclosed in 
the tube, and at others, as in the apparatus, Fig. 65, accompanies 
it in a neat box containing also a graduated glass for containing 
the urine. 

The thousand grain bottle, with proper observance of the ther- 
mometer, is, however, in this as in all other cases, the surest test of 
specific gravity. 



Fig. 65. 



Fig. 66. 





TJrinometer box containing thermometer, 
graduated glass vessel, Ac. 



TJrinometer in use. 



Fig. 66 represents the urinometer removed from the box and 
floated in the vessel accompanying it (in which the graduation 
marks are not seen). The graduation of the urinometer is such, 
that each degree represents 1-1000, thus giving the actual specific 
gravity by simply adding the number of degrees on the scale cor- 
responding with the surface of the liquid, to 1000. Thus, suppos- 
ing the number cut by the surface of the fluid to be 30, as shown 
in the figure, the specific gravity would then be 1.030. The ave- 
rage density of healthy urine is about from 10° to 25° of this scale, 
at 60° F., or sp. gr. 1.010 to 1.025. That of diabetic urine ranges 
from 30° to 60°, or sp. gr. 1.030 to 1.060. 

Figs. 67 and 68 represent a hydrometer with the glass jar 
adapted to containing the liquid to be tested; unless this vessel has 
considerable depth, the hydrometer is liable to touch the bottom, 
which would prevent its measuring. These vessels are sold by the 
principal dealers in chemical apparatus. 

Sometimes hydrometers for liquids heavier than water are manu- 
factured of small size, for the special purpose of measuring the 
strength of syrups. Fig. 69 represents one of these, which is gra- 



HYDROMETERS. 



53 



duated to Baum^'s scale. It floats at 30° in a solution of the sp. 
gr. 1.26, the density of saturated simple syrup when boiling. 



Fig. 67. 



Fig. 68. 



Fig. 69. 




Hydrometer, with vessel for floating it. 




Saccharometer. 


baume's DEGREES, 


WITH THEIR CORRESPONDING SPECIFIC GRAVITY. 




Table for Liquids lighter than Water. Temp. 60° Fahr 




Degrees of 


Specific 


Degrees of 


Specific 


Degrees of 


Specific 


Hydrom. 


Gravity. 


Hydrom. 


Gravity. 


Hydrom. 


Gravity. 


10 


1.000 


31 


0.870 


51 


0.773 


11 


0.993 


32 


0.864 


52 


0.769 


12 


0.986 


33 


0.859 


53 


0.765 


13 


0.979 


34 


0.854 


54 


0.761 


14 


0.972 


35 


0.848 


55 


0.757 


15 


0.966 


36 


0.843 


56 


0.753 


16 


0.959 


37 


0.838 


57 


0.749 


17 


0.952 


38 


0.833 


58 


0.745 


18 


0.946 


39 


0.828 


59 


0.741 


19 


0.940 


40 


0.824 


60 


0.737 


20 


0.933 


41 


0.819 


61 


0.733 


21 


0.927 


42 


0.813 


62 


0.729 


22 


0.921 


43 


0.809 


63 


0.725 


23 


0.915 


. 44 


0.805 


64 


0.722 


24 


0.909 


45 


0.800 


65 


0.718 


25 


0.903 


46 


0.795 


66 


0.714 


26 


0.898 


47 


0.791 


67 


0.711 


27 


0.892 


48 


0.787 


68 


0.707 


28 


0.886 


49 


0.782 


69 


0.704 


29 


0.881 


50 


0.778 


70 


0.700 


30 


0,875, 











54 



ON THE PHARMACOPEIA. 





Table for Liquids heavier than Water. Temp. 60° Fahr. 




Degrees of 


Specific 


Degrees of 


Specific 


Degrees of 


Specific 


Hydrom. 


Gravity. 


Hydrom. 


Gravity. 


Hydrom. 


Gravity. 


1 


1.007 


26 


1.218 


51 


1.543 


2 


1.014 


27 


1.229 


52 


1.559 


3 


1.021 


28 


1.239 


53 


1.576 


4 


1.028 


29 


1.250 


54 


1.593 


5 


1.036 


30 


1.261 


55 


1.611 


6 


1.043 


31 


1.272 


56 


1.629 


7 


1.051 


32 


1.283 


57 


1.648 


8 


1.058 


33 


1.295 


58 


1.667 


9 


1.066 


34 


1.306 


59 


1.686 


10 


1.074 


35 


1.318 


60 


1.706 


11 


1.082 


36 


1.330 


61 


1.726 


12 


1.090 


37 


1.343 


62 


1.747 


13 


1.098 


38 


1.355 


63 


1.768 


14 


1.107 


39 


1.368 


64 


1.790 


15 


1.115 


40 


1.381 


65 


1.813 


16 


1.124 


41 


1.394 


66 


1.835 


17 


1.133 


42 


1.408 


67 


1.859 


18 


1.142 


43 


1.422 


68 


1.883 


19 


1.151 


44 


1.436 


69 


1.908 


20 


1.160 


45 


1.450 


70 


1.933 


21 


1.169 


46 


1.465 


71 


1.959 


22 


1.179 


47 


1.480 


72 


1.986 


23 


1.188 


48 


1.495 


73 


2.014 


24 


1.198 


49 


1.510 


74 


2.042 


25 


1.208 


50 


1.526 







CHAPTER III. 



ON THE PHARMACOPOEIA. 



The want of a national standard for the preparation of medicine 
had been felt for some time by practitioners of medicine and phar- 
macy, when, in 1818, a practicable plan for originating such a work 
was proposed at the suggestion of Dr. Lyman Spalding, by the New 
York State Medical Society. This was so generally acceptable to 
physicians, that in accordance with it, on the first day of the year 
1820, a convention of medical delegates met in the city of Wash- 
ington, over which Dr. Samuel L. Mitchell, of New York, presided, 
and Dr. Thomas T. Hewson, of Philadelphia, acted as secretary, 
in which the essays prepared by the district conventions previously 
held in the Eastern and Middle States were duly considered, and 
the first edition of the Pharmacopoeia of the United States was 
adopted, its publication being intrusted to a committee, who issued 



1 These tables accompany Dr. Pile's hydrometers on the label. 



ON THE PHARMACOPCEIA. 55 

it before the close of the same year. This work, from the respect- 
able authority which issued it, and from its general adaptation to 
the wants of physicians and apothecaries, was calculated to super- 
sede the various and conflicting standards previously in use, al- 
though its general adoption was not rapidly brought about. 

With a wise forethought to correct the imperfections of their 
work, and to adapt it to the future progress of pharmaceutical 
knowledge, the convention of 1820 provided for the choice of dele- 
gates to meet in convention after the lapse of ten years for revising 
the Pharmacopoeia. The convention of 1830 elected Dr. Lewis 
Condict, of New Jersey, its president, and, after discussing the pro- 
posals submitted to them, referred the work of revision to a com- 
mittee, of which the late Dr. Thomas T. Hewson was chairman, 
which met in Philadelphia, and by general correspondence and 
comparison of views with those residing in other localities, were 
enabled to add much to the value of the work. No small share of 
the labor of this committee was borne by Drs. Wood and Bache, 
who, by the publication, in 1831, of the U. S. Dispensatory, a work 
of great utility, in which the pharmacopoeia was fully explained, 
commented on, and compared with similar foreign works, aided 
greatly in giving it the character it has ever since enjoyed, of a 
national standard for the preparation of medicine. The decennial 
revisions, in 1840 and 1850, were accomplished under similar 
auspices. The conventions which assembled at the capital in those 
years were presided over by Drs. Lewis Condict and George B. 
Wood, respectively, and the committees charged with carrying out 
the views of the body met in Philadelphia. 

In the three decennial revisions, the Colleges of Pharmacy of 
Philadelphia and New York have borne an active, though not a 
conspicuous part ; only in the last convention were they officially 
represented. There can be little doubt that the excellence of most 
of the formulas of the Pharmacopoeia is due in great measure to the 
valuable practical suggestions of the committee of apothecaries 
appointed by those useful organizations. Previous to the conven- 
tions of 1840 and 1850, large and efficient committees of practical 
pharmaceutists subjected all the proposed changes to the most rigid 
experimental scrutiny before submitting them to the convention, 
and through Professor Procter, their representative in the commit- 
tee of revision and publication, their influence was made available 
in the final arrangement and completion of the work. 

Upon the object and scope of the Pharmacopoeia little need be 
said; its influence in producing uniformity in nomenclature, and in 
the strength and efficiency of medicinal preparations, has been widely 
and increasingly felt, although it is to be regretted that, owing to 
the comparatively high price of the work and the smallness of the 
edition issued, it is far less in the hands of physicians and apothe- 
caries than its importance demands. In this connection it may be 
proper to speak of the comparative utility of the Pharmacopoeia and 



56 ON THE PHARMACOPOEIA. 

Dispensatory, especially as so many students of medicine and phar- 
macy confound the two works with each other. Every physician 
who practices pharmacy, as most country practitioners do, and every 
apothecary, should possess a copy of each of these works. The 
Pharmacopoeia for use as a guide book in making preparations, and 
the Dispensatory for reference as an encyclopedia of materia medica, 
therapeutics, and pharmacy. 

While the Dispensatory is justly regarded as indispensable, and 
has certainly contributed more than any other work to the general 
diffusion of pharmaceutical knowledge, those very qualities which 
give it its true value unfit it to substitute the Pharmacopoeia as a 
recipe-book. The conciseness and brevity of the latter work, the 
clear and conspicuous type, and the absence of unnecessary detail, 
adapt it especially to the purpose named, that of indicating the in- 
gredients, the proportions and the mode of preparation of the officinal 
preparations. The liability to mistakes is greatly lessened by the 
clearness and accuracy of a recipe, which should always be open 
before the operator, and should be continually consulted in the 
course of his manipulations. It will be in place to explain, in this 
connection, the use of the term officinal in this work. While by 
some, this word is meant to apply to all permanent preparations ; 
by others, it has an application to those only which are generally 
known and recognized by physicians and pharmaceutists in the 
particular locality referred to and spoken of in the Dispensatory, or 
in foreign Pharmacopoeias. I have preferred to follow those who 
restrict the use of the term to those drugs and preparations men- 
tioned in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia ; and I have carefully distinguished 
these throughout the work, from such as are either new remedies, 
since the PJiarmacopoeia was last revised, or were omitted from the 
work from any other cause, It appears to me that this is the only 
limit of the term officinal which renders it definite and precise, and 
with this meaning it certainly is most useful in a work like the 
present. 

To lay before the student the whole plan of the Pharmacopoeia, 
and especially the principles which have regulated its nomencla- 
ture, the following extract from the preface to the last edition is 
inserted here : — 

" The contents of the work are arranged in the two divisions of 
Materia Medica and Preparations ; the former enumerating and de- 
fining medicines as they are derived from nature, or furnished by 
the manufacturer, the latter containing formulae, or rules, by which 
they are prepared for use. The propriety of such a division is too 
obvious to require comment. It is the basis of arrangement in 
most Pharmacopoeias. 

" The subdivision of the Materia Medica into a primary and se- 
condary list, is a peculiarity of our national standard. It has the 
advantage of permitting a discrimination between medicines of 
acknowledged value, and others of less estimation, which, however, 



ARRANGEMENT AND NOMENCLATURE. 57 

may still have claims to notice. Many substances, at one time 
much employed, are passing out of use, without having been wholly 
discarded ; while others are brought to the notice of the profession, 
and are undergoing trial, without having been generally adopted. 
It is very convenient to have a section into which such doubtful 
medicines may be thrown, to await the decision of experience for 
or against them. Without being entirely lost sight of, they are 
thus kept in a subordinate position, which may prevent misappre- 
hension as to their real or estimated value. It is necessary to be 
understood, that the primary list contains not only all substances 
of recognized efficacy, but others of little or no apparent import- 
ance as medicines, which, however, are employed in some one or 
more of the ' preparations,' and are therefore essential. Without 
this explanation, the propriety of introducing such bodies as Ani- 
mal Charcoal, Bone, Cochineal, Marble, and Bed Saunders, into the 
primary list might be disputed. 

"Both in the Materia Medica and the Preparations, the alphabeti- 
cal arrangement has been adopted. In a work intended not for 
regular perusal but for occasional reference, it has the great merit 
of convenience. It has, moreover, the advantage that, making no 
claim to scientific classification, it is not liable to the charge of 
failure, so often and so justly urged against more ambitious systems. 
In relation to the preparations, it will be noticed that they are ar- 
ranged in groups, the titles of which are placed in the alphabetical 
order. The pharmaceutical processes naturally throw themselves 
into such groups, which could not be divided and otherwise distri- 
buted without great inconvenience. Their affinity consists either 
in closely analogous modes of treatment, as in. the decoctions, ex- 
tracts, infusions, &c. ; in having some common base, as in. the pre- 
parations of the different metals; or in a certain resemblance of 
character, as in the acids and ethers. It happens, fortunately, that 
the several individuals in these groups are so named, that they fall 
into the general alphabetical order, with but very few and insignia 
ficant exceptions. It is proper to observe that the order of succes- 
sion is based on the Latin names throughout the work. 

" The Pharmacopoeia was originally published both in the Latin 
and English languages. This was, at the time, an innovation upon 
general usage ; as codes of this kind had been almost always issued 
by the dignified bodies from which they emanated, exclusively in 
the Latin, which was considered as the. language of science. In 
the revision of 1840, the Latin was dropped ; as it did not offer 
advantages equivalent to the trouble of adapting a dead language 
to facts and processes for which it had- no terms, and to the double 
cost of the work which it occasioned. As stated in the Historical 
Introduction, the recent National Convention- was unanimous in 
their decision in favor of the English exclusively. The Latin 
names, however, of the medicines and preparations, have been re- 
tained, as they are still generally, and often very conveniently, used 



58 ON THE PHARMACOPOEIA. 

in prescription ; and it is desirable that medicines should have de- 
signations by which they may be recognized in all civilized coun- 
tries. 

" The system of nomenclature of the Pharmacopoeia of the United 
States is one of its chief merits. Adopted at a period when it was 
without example in other works of the kind, and improved with 
each successive revision, it now prevails to a considerable extent in 
all the Pharmaceutical codes recognized where our vernacular tongue 
is spoken. Its aim is to be simple, expressive, distinctive, and con- 
venient. In relation to medicines of vegetable origin, it adopts for 
those which have been long and well known, the names by which 
they have at all times been recognized, and which have withstood, 
and will no doubt continue to withstand all the mutations of science. 
In this category are such titles as Ammoniacum, Camphora, Oalla, 
Opium, Senna, &c. For medicines of more recent origin, which had 
received no distinctive officinal designation, it takes either the 
generic or specific title of the plant or animal from which the medi- 
cine is derived. Thus, we have the generic names Anthemis from 
Anthemis nobilis, Chimaphila from Chimaphila umbellata, Eupato- 
rium from Eupatorium perfoliatum, Gillenia from Gillenia trifoliata, 
Lobelia from Lobelia inflata, &c. ; and the specific names, Senega from 
Poly gala Senega, Serpentaria from Aristolochia Serpentaria, Taraxa- 
cum from Leontodon Taraxacum, &c. A very large proportion of 
the names have been formed in this way ; and, as the generic or 
specific title of the plant had its origin, in many instances, in the 
vernacular name, the original designation is thus fixed and per- 
petuated. When it happens that two different medicines are ob- 
tained from different species of the same genus, it becomes neces- 
sary to adopt either for both, the whole botanical title of the plants, 
or for one of them the generic or specific name, and for the other 
the whole name. Thus, we have Cassia Fistula and Cassia Marxian- 
dica, Quercus alba and Quercus tinctoria, as titles both for the plants 
and their medicinal products; and, in the case of the different species 
of Gentiana, the generic name Gentiana for the product of Gr. lutea, 
and the whole name, Gentiana Catesbozi, for that of the species so 
designated in scientific arrangements. "When different parts of the 
same plant are recognized as distinct medicines, they are designated 
by attaching to the generic or specific title, the name of the part 
employed. Thus are formed the names Colchici Radix and Colchici 
Semen from Colchicum autumnale, and Stramonii Folia, Stramonii 
Radix, and Stramonii Semen from Datura Stramonium. When these 
names become established in pharmacy, it does not follow that they 
are to be changed with the changing scientific titles. On the con- 
trary, it is generally best to retain them, unless, by doing so, injurious 
confusion may be occasioned. Thus we have Prunus Virginiana 
as the name of wild-cherry bark, though the plant from which it is 
derived is now usually designated by botanists as Cerasus serotina. 
It will be noticed that the Latin names are generally used in the 



NOMENCLATURE. 59 

singular number, even though the idea of plurality may be essen- 
tially connected with the medicine. Thus, Cantharis, Garyophyllus, 
Ficus, Galla, Limon, &c., are used instead of the plural of these 
terms respectively; and, in reference to the names derived from 
the part of the plant employed, the same plan is mostly followed, 
as in the case of Stramonii Semen, Colchici Semen, &c. In this the 
example of the Eoman medical writers, particularly of Celsus, has 
been followed. The leaves, however, are expressed in the plural, 
as Stramonii Folia, &c, which is also in accordance with the practice 
of the same classical author. 

"In the use of English names, it is not deemed necessary that they 
should be literal translations of the Latin terms ; but that title is 
preferred which custom and the genius of the language seem to 
sanction. Thus, the English name corresponding to Linum is not 
flax, but Flaxseed; and, on the same principle, Foeniculum is called 
Fennel-seed; Ulmus, Slippery Elm Bark ; Glycyrrhiza, Liquorice Root, 
&c. Nor are the English names always in the same number as the 
Latin. We may correctly say, Caryophyllus, Galla, Prunum, and 
Rosa ; but the genius of our language requires that we should trans- 
late these terms Gloves, Galls, Prunes, and Roses. 

" The plan of nomenclature in relation to medicines of mineral 
origin is to give the proper scientific name, when convenience, or 
some higher principle does not call for a deviation from that rule. 
Hence, the names of most mineral medicines are in strict accordance 
with existing scientific usage. But, in some instances, short and 
old established names are preferred to the scientific, especially when 
these happen to be somewhat unwieldy. Thus, Alumen, Galamina, 
and Oreta have been preferred to the chemical names Aluminse et 
Potassse Sulphas, Zinci Carbonas Impurus, and Galcis Carbonas Mollis. 
In other instances, the chemical designation is more or less unset- 
tled, or the composition of the substance has not been decisively 
determined. In such cases, either an old name is retained, as Acidum 
Muriaticum instead of either Acidum Hydrochloricum or Acidum 
Chlorohydricum; or some name is preferred generally expressive of 
the composition without aiming at chemical accuracy, as Calx Ghlo- 
rinata, taken from the London Pharmacopoeia, and Ferrum Ammo- 
niatum. In other cases, it is considered safest to designate very 
active medicines, which, if their strict chemical titles were used, 
might be dangerously confounded, by names which, though upon 
the chemical basis, have some epithet attached expressive of their 
distinctive character, as mild chloride of mercury wad corrosive chloride 
of mercury, instead of protochloride of mercury and bichloride of mer- 
cury. Sometimes, for convenience sake, when no risk of confusion 
can possibly arise, names are adopted sufficiently expressive of the 
nature of the substance, though not precisely so; as sulphate of iron 
instead of sulphate of protoxide of iron, hydrated oxide of iron instead 
of hydrated sesquioxide of iron, &c. If any part of the nomenclature 
of mineral bodies should seem at first sight somewhat incongruous, 



60 ON THE PHARMACOPEIA. 

it will be found to have been adopted in accordance with some one 
of the principles here stated, or in some other way to have the ad- 
vantage of convenience or utility. Not a single name has been given 
or retained without careful consideration. 

" When the officinal names of particular medicines may be sup- 
posed not to have yet become universally known, and the old names 
are still extensively used, the latter are given as synonymes in a 
subordinate type and position ; and those officinal titles which have 
been superseded by others adopted at the present revision, are in- 
serted beneath, with a reference to the Pharmacopoeia of 1840. 

"In the Materia Medica, the Latin and English officinal names 
are first given, and immediately afterwards, in a distinct paragraph, 
a definition fixing the precise character of the substance referred to; 
designating, for example, the plant or animal from which it is de- 
rived, and the part employed, if it be of vegetable or animal origin; 
and defining it by the precise chemical name, if mineral. When 
the officinal name sufficiently explains itself, as in the case of Mag- 
nesise Sulphas, Potassx Nitras, and Sodse Carbonas, no definition is 
given. To most of the mineral substances brief notes are appended, 
containing, in short and precise terms, an enumeration of those pro- 
perties by which their identity can be determined, and of the tests 
by which their freedom from adulterations or accidental impurities 
may be ascertained. The same plan has been extended to many of 
the chemicals among the preparations. In relation to most of the 
medicines of organic origin, it has not been thought advisable to 
offer similar tests of genuineness and purity; as the means of judg- 
ing are much less precise, and could not be readily expressed in a 
few brief rules. 

" Among the Preparations will be noticed several substances 
which are now seldom made by the apothecary, being obtained 
almost exclusively from the manufacturing chemist. They have 
been retained in their present position, because, in our widely- 
extended country, circumstances may not unfrequently render it 
desirable that the apothecary should be able to prepare them in 
the absence of a due supply; and, though the processes might not 
have been introduced if now claiming admission for the first time, 
yet, having a place already in the Pharmacopoeia, it has not been 
deemed advisable to omit them, and transfer their products to the 
Materia Medica. The circumstance that these substances are placed 
among the preparations does not preclude their purchase from the 
manufacturer when they can be procured of the proper quality. 

" Another feature of the second part of the Pharmacopoeia which 
requires a brief notice, is the introduction of double processes for 
many of the preparations, the apothecary having the choice between 
them. This might seem objectionable, as leading possibly to differ- 
ence in the preparations ; but care has been taken to guard against 
this disadvantage, the processes being such as, if properly executed, 
must yield preparations either identical in character, or sufficiently 



THE PREPARATIONS. 61 

alike for all practical purposes. It is only in cases to -which the 
mode of filtration denominated displacement is adapted, that this 
duplication has been introduced; as in the preparation of some of 
the Vinegars, Extracts, Infusions, and Tinctures. Displacement 
affords so many advantages, both in an economical point of view, 
and in the character of the resulting preparations, and has, besides, 
been practically adopted to such an extent, that it could not, with 
propriety, be excluded from a Pharmacopoeia which claims to be 
on a level with the improvements of the times. Yet the process 
requires considerable skill and experience for its proper manage- 
ment, and, if conducted without due regard to the requisite cau- 
tions, will necessarily lead to imperfect and unequal results. Thus, 
if the substance to be acted upon be not in a suitable state of com- 
minution, or be not sufficiently compacted in the instrument, the 
liquid will be apt to pass through it unequally and in distinct 
channels, so as not to come into proper contact with all parts of it, 
and therefore not completely to exhaust its soluble principles ; 
while, on the other hand, if it be too fine and too close, the perco- 
lation may be prevented, or so much retarded as to deprive the 
process of its advantages. Now, to many of those who will adopt 
the Pharmacopoeia as their guide in the preparation of medicines, 
the method of displacement is probably not yet familiar. If, there- 
fore, it were exclusively adopted in the officinal processes to which 
it is applicable, there would be danger that the resulting prepara- 
tion would, in some instances, be very different from the one con- 
templated. By leaving to the operator the choice between the 
former simple methods and the new, this danger is in a great mea- 
sure avoided; and it is strongly recommended to those who have 
not made themselves practically familiar with the various sources 
of error in the method of displacement, to postpone its application, 
whenever an alternative is given in this work, until they shall have 
acquired the requisite skill. 

" Finally, to one familiar with the British Pharmacopoeias, it will 
be obvious that, in the preparation of our own, many of the pro- 
cesses have been taken from them with little alteration. This has 
been done advisedly. It is of the highest importance that medi- 
cines having the same names should have the same composition ; 
and, as British works on medicine are much read in this country, 
it would lead to never-ending confusion if the substances they refer 
to by name should differ materially from those known by similar 
names with us. It has, therefore, been a general aim to bring our 
pharmacy into as near a correspondence as possible with that of 
Great Britain; but in all cases in which greater purity or efficiency 
in the medicine, or greater convenience and economy in the pro- 
cess, or any peculiarity in the relation of the preparation to our 
own circumstances and wants, called for deviation from the British 
standards, modified or wholly original processes have been adopted." 



PART II. 
GALENICAL PHARMACY. 



CHAPTER I. 

ON THE COLLECTION AND DESICCATION OF PLANTS. 

But little space need be occupied by this subject, although the 
proper time for collecting, and the right mode of drying and pre- 
serving the vegetable products used in medicine, are occasionally of 
importance to the pharmaceutist and physician. 

Roots should be gathered when richest in the peculiar juices of 
the plant: in annuals, this generally occurs immediately before the 
time of flowering ; in biennials, or perennials, late in the fall, or 
very early in the spring, before the plant has commenced to grow. 

Fleshy, or succulent roots, require to be cut previous to drying, 
so as to expose a large surface to the air ; the mode in which they 
are sliced, whether longitudinally or transversely, is of some inte- 
rest in judging of certain foreign drugs, but is little regarded by 
herbalists in preparing the indigenous roots for market. 

In all cases, it is important that the root, or other part of the 
plant, should be thoroughly dried. In the case of taraxacum, pars- 
ley, &c, it is necessary to apply artificial heat, in order to destroy 
the eggs deposited by insects, which, through neglect of this prey 
caution, may occasion the speedy deterioration of the root by worms. 

The smaller and more fibrous roots, and especially those contain- 
ing essential oils, should be less thoroughly dried, and, as soon as 
their condition will admit of it, should be carefully put away into 
tight drawers, bottles, or tin cans. 

Barks are best gathered in the spring or autumn ; they should 
be generally deprived of their epidermis, and dried by a moderate 
heat, their porous texture and comparative tenuity facilitating, very 
much, the process. Wild-cherry bark is often deficient in quality, 
from being gathered at the wrong season, and from the wrong part 
of the plant. The bark should be taken from the root in the 



64 ON THE COLLECTION AND DESICCATION OF PLANTS. 

eighth month — August. "When of fine quality, it has a strong and 
characteristic odor. 

Leaves, herbs, and flowers, require considerable care in their collec- 
tion and drying, to obtain them in perfection. 

Leaves should be gathered when fully developed, and before they 
have commenced to wither and fall; those of biennial plants during 
the second season. Herbs, in which term are included whole plants, 
and such parts of the same plant as are collected and sold together, 
should be gathered when in flower. Plants which have thick and 
branching stems, should be deprived of these before being put up 
for sale. Flowers may be gathered as soon as perfectly developed. 
A clear, dry morning, after the dew is dissipated, is to be preferred 
in either of these cases. They are dried in the shade, without arti- 
ficial heat ; the floor of a garret, through which is a draft of dry 
air, is well adapted to this purpose. Seeds, which are the least 
perishable of vegetable productions, should be perfectly ripe when 
collected; they require very little drying. 

The " United Brethren," called Shakers, at their settlement in New 
Lebanon, New York, have very extensive and convenient arrange- 
ments for drying these vegetable materials. A series of shelves of 
wire network is disposed in layers at suitable distances from each 
other, in large and well ventilated apartments ; upon these the herb 
is carefully placed, and allowed to remain subject to the desiccating 
action of the air, circulating below as well as above it, until com- 
pletely dried. It is then removed to a capacious bin, of which 
many are arranged along the sides of the room, and preserved until 
nearly ready for pressing — an operation which, in common with 
some other cultivators, the Shakers practice upon every article of the 
vegetable Materia Medica which they cultivate or vend. 

This, while it has its advantages, is liable to some objections. 
It has been said that, owing to the moist condition to which the 
plants require to be brought before pressing, the packages are 
liable to become mouldy in the middle. I have never met with an 
instance of this kind, however, and have no doubt but that the ex- 
cellent reputation the Shaker herbs have attained is well founded. 
Another objection to these herbs, of a very different character, is, 
that they are not adapted to the examination of the physical cha- 
racteristics of the plants; a pharmaceutical student, placed in an 
establishment where they are sold to the exclusion of the dried 
plants in bulk, enjoys no opportunity of familiarizing himself with 
this extensive class of medicines, at least so far as their physical 
and botanical characters go : to this may be added the difficulty in 
noticing any deficiency in quality, any intentional or accidental 
adulteration, or error in labelling the articles. The business of col- 
lecting and drying medicinal plants is still pursued in the vicinity 
of our large cities by herbalists, who realize a living from it. These 
have it in their power, by taking students of Medicine and Phar- 
macy with them on their excursions into the woods and fields, to 



POWDERING DRUGS AND POWDERS. 65 

extend a knowledge of medical plants among a class to whom it 
cannot fail to be in the highest degree useful and interesting. 

There are few pursuits better calculated to relieve the monotony 
of a student's life, or to impart healthfulness and variety to the 
sedentary occupations of the apothecary, than a systematic out-door 
pursuit of the useful and ennobling science of botany; and the 
apothecary or physician, by giving it a practical application to his 
business, may, in many instances, combine pecuniary with mental 
and physical advantage. For the benefit of students residing or 
sojourning in Philadelphia, a catalogue is inserted in the appendix, 
containing the name, time of flowering, and precise habitat of all 
the wild plants growing within a few miles of the city. 

The cultivation of medicinal plants in this country is mainly con- 
fined to the beautiful valley in Columbia County, N. Y., already 
referred to, where it is pursued by the Shakers, and by Tilden. 
This district seems especially adapted to the purpose, and, like the 
celebrated "Physic Gardens" of Mitcham, in England, furnishes a 
great variety of medicinal plants, and in large quantity. 

For an interesting account of the "Physic Gardens of Mitcham," 
see American Journal of Pharmacy, vol. xxiii. p. 25; and for 
some details in regard to the 1ST. Lebanon Gardens, see the same 
Journal, vol. xxiii. p. 386. 

The question of how far the cultivation of plants diminishes or 
modifies their medicinal activity, is at present an undecided point; 
it is, however, universally admitted, that climate and soil exercise 
an important influence on their virtues. 

The opinion seems to be also generally adopted that most plants 
are more fully developed in the country in which they are indige- 
nous, than in any to which they may be transplanted; but that 
there are very many exceptions to this rule, if it be a general rule, 
must be quite apparent. 

In the present state of our knowledge upon this subject, we can- 
not go further than to say that of plants indigenous to the temperate 
zones, some flourish equally on either continent, while others, 
owing to some want of congeniality in climate and soil, will only 
develop their peculiar properties fully in the localities to which 
they are indigenous. 

At the gardens in ISTew Lebanon, the narcotic herbs indigenous 
to Europe are cultivated with apparent success, and the extracts 
prepared from them are among the best manufactured in the 
world. 

On the Powdering of Drugs and on Powders. 

According to the plan adopted in this work, the first class of 
preparations to be treated of is that of powders. 

The preparation of the material for powdering, consists of gar- 
5 



66 ON THE COLLECTION AND DESICCATION OF PLANTS. 

bling or sorting, and drying it. The former process pertains to the 
druggist, and the latter to the drug grinder. 

The object of garbling is to separate any impurities or adultera- 
tions, and any decayed or deteriorated portions of the drug. In 
nearly all foreign drugs imported into this country, especially those 
of vegetable origin, there are great variations in quality, and even 
in the same lot there are frequently very good and quite worthless 
specimens. As an illustration of this, Chinese rhubarb may be in- 
stanced: the roots, when broken, are found to vary exceedingly in 
quality, even in the same case; some are heavy and compact in 
their structure, breaking with a very uneven fracture, presenting a 
red and yellow marbled appearance, giving a gritty impression 
between the teeth, and the peculiar bitter, astringent taste, charac- 
teristic of the drug, while other roots are light, fibrous, and spongy 
in their internal structure, and almost destitute of the peculiar 
color and taste; some are worm eaten, others, which have the 
requisite specific gravity and the external appearances indicating a 
good article, are dark colored within and quite inferior. The cus- 
tom of some, when about to send a lot of rhubarb to the drug-mill 
to be ground, is, either to send it in the mixed condition above de- 
scribed, in which it is imported, or to select from it the choicest 
pieces for separate sale, and for a sample, and send all the inferior 
roots, and perhaps only a small portion of the best to be powdered. 

A druggist who exhibits the best roots, selected in this way, as 
a sample of the kind powdered, cannot be acquitted of a gross and 
unpardonable fraud upon his customers. If he sends the whole 
case, containing good, bad, and indifferent, as originally imported, 
he may at least claim that, though he has not improved the quality 
of the medicine in reducing it to powder, he has not rendered it 
worse. But, with a view to furnishing a good and reliable medi- 
cinal agent, without regard to price, he would garble his rhubarb, 
by cracking each root, rejecting the decayed and otherwise defective 
pieces, and preserving in the form of powder only that which is of 
value. This is done by some druggists and pharmaceutists, who 
are more careful of their reputation for the quality of their drugs 
than for cheapness. 

In a subsequent part of this work, I shall have occasion to refer 
to the variable quality of powdered gum Arabic ; this is mainly 
owing to the neglect of garbling, or to the use of the rejected por- 
tion after garbling, for reduction to powder. It is desirable to have 
wdiole gum Arabic free from dusty and gritty particles for sale. 
When in this condition, it is more elegant and convenient for chew- 
ing, and for solution in making the nutritive mucilaginous drinks, 
so much used by invalids, and it commands a better price. It is 
therefore customary to sift gum, as at first taken from the case, and 
the inferior kinds of powder are made from these siftings. 

The best powdered gum Arabic is fully worth a handsome advance 



THE DRYING AND POWDERING OF DRUGS. 67 

on the price of the whole gum, as any one may see, who will esti- 
mate the cost of powdering, waste, delays, &c. 

The chief reason for the deficiency in the quality of medicinal 
powders, is found in the reluctance manifested by the public, and 
retail apothecaries and physicians, to pay a liberal price for them. 
It will be found, on examination, that powders are not unfrequently 
sold at a less price than the whole drug, especially when the article 
is costly, and of variable quality in commerce. This is true, espe- 
cially of rhubarb, jalap, gum Arabic, and the spices, which, as a 
general thing, cannot be recommended in powder with the same 
confidence as in the unpowdered condition, or in the form of one 
of the Galenical preparations, prepared from the whole or contused 
drug. 

In garbling digitalis, hyoscyamus, and some other leaves, whether 
for powdering, or for use in making tinctures, as before stated, care 
should be taken to remove the midribs and petioles, which are 
comparatively inactive. 

Drying. — When a drug is sent to be ground in its ordinary con- 
dition, it generally requires drying, previously to being submitted 
to the action of the mill. 

Moist and tenacious substances, such as the gum resins, opium, 
aloes, squill, and jalap, rhubarb, colocynth, and all fresh roots and 
herbs, require this treatment to a certain extent, and the drug-mills 
are supplied with apartments, or steam baths, adapted to it. These 
are heated, by steam-pipes, to a temperature of about 120° E., and 
the drug is allowed to remain in them as long as is deemed neces- 
sary to deprive it entirely of water. 

Some drugs are injured by this process; the volatile ingredient, 
so often the active principle, suffers great loss, and the resulting 
powder is comparatively inefficient. Myrrh and assafcetida furnish 
good illustrations of this. 

On the other hand, substances possessed of no active volatile in- 
gredient, but containing a large amount of water, as, for instance, 
opium, are enhanced in value by drying and powdering. Some spe- 
cimens of opium diminish in drying and powdering, to the extent of 
20 per cent., which, if the process is properly conducted, increases 
the efficiency and value of the drug in that proportion. Experiments 
under my own supervision show about an average loss of 9 per cent., 
in reducing tolerably hard opium to the pulverulent condition. It 
is on this account, and from the fact that the powder, when unadul- 
terated, is more nearly uniform in its composition than the drug in 
mass, that the U. S. Pharmacopoeia directs the use of powdered i 
opium in making all the Galenical preparations of that drug. 

Elecampane root is said to lose seven-eighths of its weight in dry- 
ing; stramonium leaves, nine-tenths; hyoscyamus and belladonna 
leaves, nearly as much. If these plants lose nothing but moisture 
in the process, and retain all their active medicinal properties un- 



68 ON THE COLLECTION" AND DESICCATION OF PLANTS. 

impaired, it is obvious that they are seven or eight times stronger 
when in powder, or in a dry condition, than when recent. 

A difficulty, liable to occur in powdering drugs at the mills, is 
due to the accidental admixture of foreign substances with them. 
The extensive grinding surface employed becomes so completely 
covered with the fine powder, that it is cleaned with great difficulty ; 
so that the next substance introduced becomes contaminated with 
it, sometimes to its great disadvantage. I have repeatedly observed 
this in the cases of certain articles of delicate flavor, as orris root 
and vanilla. 

The plan of dusting powders, which insures their extreme fine- 
ness, and the separation of any earthy impurity, has greatly gained 
in favor of recent time. The apparatus now used is not figured in 
any of the books, as far as I have observed ; it is constructed so that 
the powdered drug, when it has passed between the grinding sur- 
faces, is thrown by a draught, artificially created below, to a height of 
about five feet, and is then allowed to settle upon the adjacent parts, 
from which, after it has collected in sufficient quantity, it is removed. 

It will be appropriate, in this place, to give some observations 
upon powdering, as practised, on a small scale, in the shop and 
laboratory. This is accomplished by means of mortars, suited to 
the different processes of contusion and trituration, and by mills. 

Mortars for contusion are usually made of iron, brass, or bell- 
metal, of the shape shown in Fig. 70. Contusion is employed for 

Fig. 70. 




Mortar and pestle for contusion. 

powdering and bruising ligneous substances generally, being adapted 
to breaking apart their fibres, and, by the violent attrition of the 



THE PKOCESS OF POWDEKIJSTG DKUGS. 69 

coarser particles with each other, reducing the whole to a more or 
less fine powder. 

Care must be taken to avoid treating any corrosive substance in 
the iron mortar, thus allowing it to become rusty; or, if this should 
occur, it should be carefully washed out with diluted muriatic acid, 
and scoured with clean sand, to fit it for use. Any adhering mate- 
rial should be cleaned away immediately after the mortar is out of 
use, as it is then more easily removed than if allowed to remain and 
harden. The mortar is then always ready for use. 

In powdering substances by contusion, a small quantity should 
be introduced into the mortar at one time; if the mortar is small, 
sufficient to cover the bottom for about the depth of an inch ; the 
flattened extremity of the pestle is then to be brought into direct 
and violent contact with it, each successive stroke being aimed at 
the same spot in the centre of the circle formed by the sides and 
bottom of the mortar. When a part of the contents under treat- 
ment assumes the condition of a fine powder, which is exhibited 
by the air becoming charged with the dust, it is well to sift it, and 
thus separate the fine from the coarser particles, these last being 
returned to the mortar, and further contused until a second sifting 
becomes necessary, and so on till it is finished. A small portion 
of the drug is usually left in powdering, which it seems impossible 
to reduce sufficiently ; this is part of the ligneous portion, which is 
frequently inert; the drug-grinder who obtains a considerable 
quantity of this gruff, as it is called, usually retains it for admix- 
ture with the next lot of the same drug he is called upon to grind, 
in this way reducing somewhat the loss upon it: he is usually 
allowed a small percentage for this necessary deficiency in the 
powdered product. 

The operation of sifting may be varied according to the degree 
of fineness required in the powder. To procure the finest impal- 
pable powder, the sieve should be gently agitated, the powder being 
laid lightly upon it, and the operation being suspended as soon as 
it has ceased to pass through readily; the plan of rubbing the 
powder over the sieve with the hand, thus using more or less pres- 
sure to force it through the meshes, may be pursued when the fine- 
ness of the powder is not so much desired as the rapidity of the 
process. 

The mortar and pestle adapted for trituration are shown in Figs. 
71 and 72. Such a mortar requires to be more carefully handled 
than one for contusion. It is adapted to the reduction of saline 
substances and chemicals generally to powder, by the friction of 
their particles with each other, between the hard and rough sur- 
faces of the mortar and pestle. The ware being brittle, should not 
be subjected to blows with the pestle; it should be carefully wiped 
out and laid away, after using, so as to be dry and clean whenever 
needed. 

The mode of manipulating with the wedgewood mortar and pes- 



70 ON THE COLLECTION" AND DESICCATION OF PLANTS. 

tie, after placing in it the material to be ground to powder, is to 
grasp the pestle firmly with the right hand, holding the mortar 



Fig. 71. 



Fig. 72. 




Wedgewood mortar and pestle. 

with the left if necessary, and gradually to traverse the mortar with 
the pestle from the centre outwards, reaching the circumference 
gradually, by a series of rotary motions; and then, by reversing 
the direction of these motions, to bring the pestle again to the 
centre; in this way all parts are brought fully and equally under 
the action of the pestle. When any portion of the contents of the 
mortar becomes caked, and ceases to fall towards the centre, when 
agitated, which often happens when the powder becomes very fine, 
a spatula should be occasionally run around the sides and bottom, 
to loosen and mix together the different portions. 

A loose and careless way of triturating substances, is productive 
of no saving of labor ; the conditions most favorable to pulveriza- 
tion by trituration are a constant, uniform, and hard grinding mo- 
tion communicated to the pestle, the layer of powder intervening 
between it and the mortar being thin, and the mortar so shaped as 
to present all parts of it equally to the action of the pestle. 

Many substances can neither be reduced to powder by the pro- 
cess of contusion nor by that of trituration; of these, nutmeg may 
be instanced as one which is most conveniently grated, or scraped 
off with the blade of a knife ; orange-peel, slippery elm, mezereon 
bark, liquorice root, are best comminuted by cutting them with a 
pair of shears, or a knife fastened on a lever, such as tobacconists 
use for cutting tobacco into plugs. The mode of cutting a piece of 



THE PROCESS OF POWDERING DRUGS. 



71 



liquorice root into convenient pieces for chewing, is shown in the 
drawing. 

Pig. 73. 




Tobacco knife. 

Quassia, guaiacum, logwood, and red saunders, are chipped by 
machinery, the two latter especially, for use in the arts. 

Camphor is easily reduced to powder, by adding to it a small 
portion of some liquid in which it is soluble, as, for instance, alco- 
hol, and triturating to dryness ; the proportion of alcohol proper to 
be added to camphor for this purpose, is about one minim to three 
grains. 

Figs. 74 and 75 represent very convenient forms of labor-saving 




Swift's drug-mill. 

apparatus for the physician and apothecary. Swift's drug-mill is 
in very common use, both for fine and coarse powders; and the 



72 ON THE COLLECTION" AND DESICCATION OF PLANTS. 

spice-mill here represented will often do to substitute it, being 
more portable, and readily removed and replaced again upon the 

Fig. 75. 




Spice-mill. 

edge of the counter or office table. The grinding surfaces in both 
are of cast iron, in the one case toothed, and in the other grooved, 
so as to tear apart the substances with facility. In each case, the 
coarseness of the product may be varied by the use of a screw, 
which is so arranged as, by tightening it, to approximate the grind- 
ing surfaces, and effect a finer division, or, by loosening, to furnish 
a coarser powder, by removing the comminuting surfaces further 
apart. The article to be powdered should be well dried, and, for 
grinding in the small mill, should not be in pieces larger than a 
hickory-nut. 

Muriate of ammonia, and carbonate and nitrate of potassa, and 
other saline substances, are conveniently reduced by the process of 
granulation, which consists in dissolving the salt in water, and 
evaporating to dryness, constantly stirring. The process is only 
applicable to a few articles which are freely soluble, and are not 
readily decomposed by heat; the granulated powders thus pro- 
duced, are generally quite different from those made by mechanical 
means; they are neither so fine nor so free from water. 

Many of the insoluble powders are obtained by precipitation ; as, 
for example, precipitated sulphur, prepared by dropping muriatic 
acid into a solution of bisulphuret of calcium and hyposulphite of 
lime; the calcium and chlorine present, uniting with the acid, form 
chloride of calcium and water ; the former being extremely soluble, 
the sulphur, which is insoluble, is thus precipitated as a fine powder. 
(See Sulphur.) 

On the same principle the precipitated carbonate of lime is pre- 
pared, by adding a solution of carbonate of soda to a solution of 



POWDEKS. 73 

chloride of calcium. As a result of the reaction, the insoluble car- 
bonate of lime is produced, and is thrown down in the form of a 
powder. (See Alkaline Earths) 

It is worthy of remark, in regard to these powders generally, 
that they are composed of very small crystals. Their fineness is 
dependent upon the temperature and degree of concentration of 
the liquids when mixed. When the solutions are hot and concen- 
trated, the reaction takes place suddenly, and the powder is very 
fine; when they are cold and more dilute, the precipitate is gradu- 
ally deposited, and more perfectly assumes the crystalline form. 

Tartar emetic is obtained in a very fine powder, suitable for pre- 
paring the ointment, by dissolving it in water, so as to form a 
strong solution, and then adding alcohol to this. The strong affi- 
nity of water for alcohol causes it to unite with it, and the tartar 
emetic being less soluble in the alcoholic liquid is thrown down in 
an impalpable powder. 

Powders, as a class of medicinal remedies, possess the advantage, 
when skilfully prepared, of uniting all the proximate principles of 
the plant, in their natural condition, and may be administered 
without the intervention of any menstruum. They may be used 
in bulk, taken into the mouth with water or some viscid liquid; or 
may be made into pills; or suspended in liquids in the form of 
mixtures. 

The disadvantages attendant upon their use, are these: they are 
frequently too bulky for convenience, the dose being so large as 
to be repulsive and disgusting to the patient ; they generally con- 
tain a considerable proportion of inert ligneous matter ; many of 
them are liable to undergo an unfavorable change by exposure to 
the influence of the atmosphere, especially when it is charged with 
moisture; and, as is generally believed, they are injured by light. 
Vegetable powders are subject to adulteration without the possi- 
bility of detection. 

Except in the few cases, such as opium and cinchona bark, where 
we may isolate the active principle, and ascertain the proportion 
contained in a given sample, it is impossible to judge with cer- 
tainty of the quality of a powdered drug; the only safeguard of the 
physician against fraud or the effects of carelessness, where the 
vegetable powders are concerned, is to buy them of careful and 
conscientious druggists, who either powder them, or exercise a 
strict supervision over the process as conducted by the drug- 
grinder. 

Extreme fineness is very much sought after in powders, espe- 
cially of latter times ; and we are certainly not without evidence of 
its conferring great superiority in some cases. Ferri pulvis of the 
U. S. Pharmacopoeia is an instance of this. 

The fineness of a powder affects its color, as is manifest in the 
case of white saline substances, which become whiter as they are 
reduced to very fine powders. 



74 ON SOLUTION, FILTRATION, AND MEDICATED WATERS. 

There is no separate class of simple powders in our Pharma- 
copoeia; it is understood to be included in the Materia Medica list. 
The compound powders which are officinal, are included in this 
work under the general head of extemporaneous powders and pills, 
and designated by U. S. P. 

The necessary practical hints in regard to the mode of preparing 
and dispensing them, are given under their appropriate head in the 
chapter on Dispensing. 



CHAPTER II. 

OX SOLUTION, FILTRATION, AND THE MEDICATED WATERS. 

There are two objects in view in this process, and the principal 
feature in the classification of solutions is founded on this fact. 

The simplest kind is that in which, by the use of an appropriate 
liquid, we overcome the attraction of aggregation in a solid body, 
rendering its particles more susceptible to chemical action, and 
more readily assimilated when taken into the stomach. The liquid 
used for this purpose is called a solvent ; and water, the great 
neutral solvent, is most used in preparing this class, which may be 
designated simple solutions. 

When we speak of the solubility of any substance, we have 
reference to its relation to water, the term being an approximate 
one. Very few substances exist in nature wholly insoluble ; and 
as there is no line between the least soluble, and those which are 
freely dissolved under ordinary circumstances, the term is not 
adapted to use where accuracy or precision of language is required. 

Solution is accomplished by bringing the material under treat- 
ment, into contact with the solvent under favorable circumstances; 
these relate, 1st, to temperature; 2d, to the state of aggregation 
of the solid; 3d, to its position in relation to the solvent. 

Hot liquids dissolve substances with greater facility than do 
cold ; with the well-known exceptions, lime, magnesia, and chloride 
of sodium. In addition to the greater solvent power of hot liquids, 
the currents produced by the process of heating them, favor the 
more rapid solution of the contained solids, as shaking up the ves- 
sel favors the same result. 

To facilitate solution in a small way, mortars are much employed; 
they serve the double purpose of reducing the solid to powder, 
and of promoting its intimate mixture throughout the liquid. 




THE PEOCESS OP SOLUTION. 75 

Mortars of porcelain ware (Pig. 76) are most suitable for this pur- 
pose; they are used as follows: The substance to be dissolved, is 
first placed in the mortar and rubbed into a powder more or less 
fine; a small portion of the solvent 
is now added and triturated with the Fi s- 76 - 

powder ; as soon as this first portion 
seems to be nearly saturated, it is 
poured into another vessel, and an 
additional portion of the solvent add- 
ed, triturated, and poured off in the 
same way; a fresh portion again 
being added, the process is repeated, 
and so continued till the powder has 
disappeared. The liquids thus ob- 
tained, being mixed, furnish a far Porcelain mortar. 

stronger solution than could be pre- 
pared in the same length of time under the ordinary circumstances 
of contact. 

When a weak solution is to be made, especially of delicate che- 
mical substances, like nitrate of silver, a good way is to drop the 
crystals or powder into the liquid previously placed in a clean vial 
of suitable size, to which a cork has been fitted, and to shake it up 
until dissolved. This should only be done in the case of very 
soluble substances, and the shaking should be continued as long as 
any portion remains undissolved. 

A good arrangement for effecting solution is to place the solid 
on a perforated diaphragm resting beneath the surface of the liquid, 
or to inclose it in a bag of some porous material, and suspend it 
by a thread in the vessel near its top. By this contrivance, that 
portion of the liquid having the greatest solvent power, because 
the least saturated, is always in contact with the solid; the solu- 
tion, as it becomes saturated, sinks to the bottom, and displaces the 
portion less charged with the solid ingredient, which, in conse- 
quence of its less specific gravity, seeks the top, thus keeping up a 
continual circulation in the fluid favorable to the object in view. 
In large operations in the arts where it is impossible to shake or 
to stir the liquid conveniently, an arrangement based upon this 
principle is adopted. 

The term saturated, besides its application as above, is employed 
to signify that an acid is neutralized by an alkali, or vice versa; 
or, in other words, that an equivalent proportion of one substance 
has combined with an equivalent proportion of another, for which 
it has an affinity ; they are then said to have saturated each other. 
The term, when used for this purpose, may be said to be a strictly 
chemical one, but when employed as above, to designate the point 
at which a liquid ceases to dissolve a solid body, it is used in a 
pharmaceutical sense. 

Eapid solution, even when not accompanied by chemical reac- 



76 ON SOLUTION, FILTRATION, AND MEDICATED WATERS. 

tion, generally causes a reduction of temperature, and thus retards 
the process to a certain extent, so that, in arrangements for solution 
on a large scale, it is important to counteract this effect by con- 
trivances for keeping up the temperature of the liquid. 

A large number of the solutions used in medicine, are effected 
by inducing chemical changes among the ingredients introduced 
into them, sometimes yielding soluble compounds, where one or 
more of the original ingredients were insoluble. 

The solutions officinal in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, are not 
arranged as a separate class of preparations, but being generally 
composed of the metallic salts dissolved in water, they are dis- 
persed throughout the work under the heads of the salts them- 
selves, and will be noticed either in the consideration of the extem- 
poraneous combinations, or under separate and appropriate heads, 
being designated by the initials U. S. P. 



The Medicated "Waters. 

Closely resembling the solutions proper, are the medicated waters. 
— Aquce Medicatce, U. S. P. 

These are generally solutions in water of the essential oils, made 
by triturating the latter with a third substance (carbonate of mag- 
nesia, usually), which, either by dividing them mechanically, and 
thus presenting them to the water under favorable circumstances, 
or by a chemical union with them, renders them soluble to a limited 
extent, and imparts their sensible properties to the medicated waters 
thus formed. 

The same result is obtained by mixing the fresh herb with a 
quantity of water in an apparatus for distillation, and allowing them 
to remain in contact until the water has, to a certain extent, dissolved 
out the essential oil, extractive matter, coloring principle, &c. ; and 
then, by the application of heat, volatilizing the water and the essen- 
tial oil, and collecting them in a refrigerated receiver. If the oil is 
in excess, it will be found on standing to collect on the surface of 
the liquid in the receiver, but a certain amount is retained in 
solution by the water, imparting to it the fragrance peculiar to the 
herb employed. (See Chapter on Distillation) 

A third method of preparing medicated waters is to impregnate 
pure water with gases, either by the aid of pressure or by simple 
absorption. Most of those prepared in this way are appropriately 
classified as chemical preparations. 

In the tabular view appended, the officinal medicated waters are 
classified according to the methods of preparing them : — 



THE MEDICATED WATEES. 77 



Aqile Medicate, JJ. S. 

FlKST CLASS. — By trituration with an insoluble substance which is 
afterwards separated by filtration. 

Officinal name. Proportions. Comp. Dose. 

Aqua Camphoras, Camphor gj, Carb. Magnes. gij to Oj=3 grains to f^j f§ss. 

" Amygdalae Amarse, Oil 'rr^xvj, do. gj to Oij=l drop to f.^.j fjfj. 

" Cinnamomi, OilTi\,xvj, do. 3j to Qj=2 drops to fgj f^ij. 

" Fceniculi, do. do. do. do. do. 

" Menthae Pip., do. do. do. do. do. 

" " Virid., do. do. do. do. do. 

Second Class. — By distillation. 

Aqua Rosas, Rose petals lbj to Oj. 

THIRD CLASS. — By charging water with gas. 
Aqua 1 Acidi Carbonici, 5 parts of C0 2 to 1 of water. 

The manipulation in preparing those of the first class is quite 
simple, and, except in the case of camphor water, is precisely uni- 
form. The carbonate of magnesia is removed by filtration, and only 
serves the purpose of dividing the oil and rendering it more soluble 
in the water. It may be substituted by prepared chalk, powdered 
silica, or some other insoluble substance in very fine powder. 

In making camphor water, the chief point to be observed is to 
secure the complete division of the camphor; this is accomplished 
by triturating it with alcohol, which brings it into a pasty mass ; 
this mass must now be brought completely between the triturating 
surfaces of the pestle and mortar, for if any portion escapes it will 
be lumpy and granular, and not in a favorable condition for solu- 
tion. The carbonate of magnesia may be triturated with the moist 
camphor before it has passed into the condition of a powder, and 
after thorough incorporation the whole may be passed through a 
fine sieve ; the water is then gradually added. The undissolved 
carbonate and camphor should be thrown on the filter with the 
first portion of the liquid, so that it may be percolated by the 
liquid during its filtration. 

In the preparation of extemporaneous solutions or mixtures, the 
medicated waters of the first class are very convenient ; but where 
the one required is not at hand, it may be substituted by dropping 
the essential oil on a small piece of sugar, or, if in a mixture con- 
taining gum, upon the powdered gum, and triturating with a suffi- 
cient quantity of water. The proportion of the oil used, as shown 
in the table, is in all cases, excepting that of the bitter almond water, 
one minim (which is frequently substituted by two drops) of the oil 
to one fluidounce of the liquid. 

1 For Liquor Ammonia, and other medicated waters not classified under this head, 
see Part IV. 



78 ON SOLUTION, FILTKATTON, AND MEDICATED WATERS. 



Filtration. — In this place, it is not inappropriate to introduce 
some account of the process of nitration. The object of this is to 
separate any undissolved or precipitated substance suspended in a 
liquid from the liquid itself; as in preparing the medicated waters, 
a filter is employed to separate the carbonate of magnesia from the 
solution of the essential oil in water, and thus to obtain a clear fluid. 
When the liquid is viscid, and contains only motes of an appreciable 
size, as, for instance, when a syrup has been prepared from sugar 
contaminated with insoluble impurities, a sufficient filter may be 
constructed of flannel or Canton flannel, by folding over a square 
piece in the manner indicated in the figure ; the line c d being laid 
over the line c a, and united by a seam ; the bag thus formed is 
pointed at c, and open from a to b, the line a c being lapped over to 

Fig. 77. 





form the seam. In using this strainer, the long end projecting toward 
the point 5, beyond the dotted line e/, may be turned over the side 
of the vessel, by which the strainer will be kept in its place while 
the liquid is poured into the opening at the top. 

This process is called straining, though a kind of filtration. In- 
fusions, decoctions, syrups, fixed oils, and melted ointments, are sub- 
jected to it in order to separate foreign ingredients. They pass 
through the strainer with much greater facility when quite hot, 
though in the case of the fixed oils a clearer product is obtained by 
conducting the operation in the cold, and by using several thick- 
nesses of the flannel, or by employing Canton flannel with the nap 
on the inside. Coarse linen is sometimes better than flannel, espe- 
cially when considerable pressure is to be employed, as in extract- 
ing the juice from the pulp in making fruit syrups. 

Figs. 79 and 80 represent an apparatus I have been using for 
some time past for straining syrups. Fig. 79 is a tin bucket, into 
which a funnel-shaped wire support, Fig. 80, is suspended, resting 
on the bucket by a projecting rim at the top ; a jelly bag is here 
unnecessary, as a sufficiently large square or round piece of flannel 
laid upon the wires will assume a convenient position for use. 



FILTEATION. 



79 



Fig. 81 represents in section a contrivance for straining jellies, 
attributed to the late Dr. Physick, and made by Isaac S. Williams, 
of Philadelphia ; a wire support fits into a funnel, which is soldered 
into a vessel designed to be kept full of hot water so as to prevent 
the cooling and thickening of the jelly during straining. 

For ordinary aqueous, alcoholic, and ethereal liquids, the process 
of filtration, employing the term in its more limited sense, is used, 



Fig. 81. 




Apparatus for straining syrups, Ac. 



Physick's jelly strainer. 



the filtering medium being paper. The best filtering paper is porous 
and free from any kind of glazing ; that made from cotton or linen 
rags is the best for ordinary purposes ; the kind made from woollen 
materials seems better adapted to viscid liquids, being thicker and 
more porous, but seldom free from coloring matter. It is, also, 
more soluble in alkaline solutions, and unfit for filtering such. 

It is often difficult to meet with paper combining the requisite 
strength, permeability, and freedom from coloring principles to 
answer a good purpose for filtering. The best that I have seen is 
imported, and is almost too expensive for common use. 

The construction of paper filters is an extremely simple thing 
when once learned, and is easily taught the student by a practical 
demonstration ; it is, nevertheless, a difficult thing to describe clearly 
without giving to it more space than may appear at first sight due 
to so small a matter. 

There are two kinds of paper filters, the plaiii and the plaited; the 
use of the plain filter is in cases where we desire to collect the solid 
ingredient present in the liquid, and to remove it afterwards from 
the paper. It allows the passage of the liquid through it with less 
rapidity, and yet, owing to its being so readily folded, it is in very 
common use. The method of folding the plain filter is similar to 
the first steps to be taken in folding the plaited filter. 

In the following description I have endeavored to convey an 
idea of this process. 



80 ON SOLUTION, FILTRATION, AND MEDICATED WATERS. 

A square piece of filtering paper, abed, Fig. 82, is folded 
over in the middle so as to form a crease at the line e f; the edge 
c d being laid directly over a b. The parallelogram, a b e f, 
represents the paper thus folded ; the line b f being now laid 
upon the line a e, a crease is formed as represented by the line g 



Fig. 82. 



Fig. 83. 



f 



CL 


3 


b\ 


e 


t" J\ 


e> 




1 



h, Fig. 83 ; the folded paper, if opened, makes a cone, having the 

point h at its base, and by cutting off the 

Fig. 84. projecting angle a, by a curved line from e 

to g, a plain filter will be the result, as shown 

in Fig. 84. 

The plaited filter is made as follows: Take 
the paper before being cut, as above, and 
having opened it again so as to expose the 
parallelogram, the line e A, Fig. 85, is laid 
upon the line c A, forming a crease at a h. 
This being opened again, the line e h is laid 
upon the line a h, producing an additional 
crease at g h, Fig. 86. The crease j h, Fig. 

87, is next to be formed by folding a h, upon the middle dotted 

line, Fig. 87, as shown in Fig. 88. 




Fig. 85. 



Fig. 86. 



THE MEDICATED WATERS. 



81 



One-half of the parallelogram having thus been creased, we pro- 
ceed to form on the other the corresponding creases m h, b h : and 



Fig. 87. 



\ \ ' 




h h, Fig. 89, all of which are in one direction, forming receding 
angles. The next thing to be done is, to divide the eight sections 




thus formed, by a crease through each in the opposite direction. 
To do this, the edge/ h is laid in the crease b h, and then turned 

Fig. 91. 




back, as shown in Fig. 90, producing the crease n h. In the same 
way an intermediate crease is formed in each of the spaces. This 
6 



82 ON SOLUTION, FILTRATION, AND MEDICATED WATERS. 



is better accomplished by turning the paper over, so that each of 
the receding angles shall project upward, and in this way be more 
readily brought together, as shown in Fig. 91, producing a reced- 
ing angle in forming the intermediate creases. 

The paper will now have the appearance of a fan, represented by 
Fig. 92, folding it up in each of its creases like a shut fan, Fig. 93. 



Fig. 92. 



Fig. 93. 





The projecting points, a and b, may be clipped off with a pair of 
scissors at the dotted line, and upon opening the originally doubled 

halves made by the first fold at 
Fig. 94. ef, Fig. 82, it will be found to 

present the appearance indicated 
in Fig. 94. 

In the filter, as thus con- 
structed, the creases occur alter- 
nately, except near the line e f, 
where the two creases occurring 
next each other are in the same 
direction. Sometimes, to obviate 
this, the space intervening be- 
tween these is folded backwards, 
as shown in the figure, so as to 
make a narrow crease in the op- 
posite direction. 

The plaited filter, as thus 
formed, is exceedingly useful for general purposes, exposing the 




THE MEDICATED WATERS. 



entire surface of the paper to the action of the liquid, and allowing 
the process to proceed far more rapidly than in the case of the 
plain filter, first described, where one-half of the paper being 
doubled, the other half only is permeated by the liquid. 

A funnel, such as described and figured on page 34, is employed 
for supporting a filter of either kind, and is, as there stated, better 
adapted to ordinary use when grooved on its inner surface, so as 
to allow the free downward passage of the liquid, after it has per- 
meated the paper, and a groove on the outside of the tube, so that 
when inserted tightly into the neck of a bottle, the air within may 
find ready egress. 

If the tube of the funnel is smooth and ungrooved, a small 
plugget of folded paper, a piece of thick twine, or a small wedge- 
shaped splinter of wood, should be inserted in the neck of the 
bottle, along with the tube of the funnel; this will obviate one of 
the most common annoyances connected with filtration. 

In filtering into an open vessel, it is a good plan to place the 
lower extremity of the funnel in contact with the side of the vessel, 
thus preventing any inconvenience from the liquid splashing on 
the sides or over the top, and by creating a downward stream, pro- 
moting the free and rapid passage of the filtrate. 

The paper, of which the filter is formed, especially if very po- 
rous, is liable to be weakened by being plaited as above described ; 
it is therefore advised not to make the creases firmly down to the 
very point, but rather to leave the terminus of an undefined shape; 
and when there is danger of breakage, either from the great weight 
of the liquid, or from the weakness of the paper at its point, a very 
small plain filter may be advantageously placed under the point at 
the lowest extremity of the funnel ; this acts as a support to the 
weakest* and most exposed part of the filter. 



Fig. 95. 



Fig. 96. 





Section of a well-formed funnel. 



Filter support. 



The proper shape of a funnel for filtration is shown in section at 
Fig. 95. The lines a b and c b are straight, and ab c and acb 



84 ON SOLUTION, FILTRATION, AND MEDICATED WATERS. 



are angles of 60°, making an equilateral triangle into which the 
filter just described will fit perfectly. 

Fig. 96 is a filter support adapted to the rapid passage of liquids 
in filtratiou ; it, however, requires to be used in connection with 
an open or wide mouth receiving vessel or a funnel, otherwise the 
liquid might not be perfectly collected as it passes downwards. 

In filtering very volatile liquids, particularly in hot weather, some 
contrivance must be resorted to, to prevent evaporation from the 
wide surface exposed, while, at the same time, the escape of air 
from the receiving vessel must be provided for. The drawing here 
given, Fig. 97, from Mohr & Eedwood, represents an arrangement 
of the kind. The glass funnel is fitted by a cork into the receiving 
vessel ; its top is ground to a smooth surface, on which is laid a 
plate of glass, c; a little simple cerate will furnish a good luting; 
6, is a very small glass tube laid down the inside of the funnel be- 
tween it and the filter, and so twisted at its lower end as to be sup- 
ported in its place; this forms a connection between the air below 
and that above the liquid, without allowing any evaporation. 



Fig. 97 



Fig. 98. 




(?§>=©* 




Filter for volatile liquids. 



Pouring with a guiding rod. 



The use of a guiding rod in pouring a liquid upon a filter is 
found a great convenience : a glass rod is well suited to this pur- 
pose. The lower extremity is directed against the side of the filter 
near the apex, while the middle portion is placed against the mouth 
of the vessel, as shown in the drawing ; by this means the stream is 
made to fall steadily, and not with too great force, and against the 
strongest part of the filter ; the liquid being poured, is also pre- 
vented from running back upon the containing vessel, and thus 



THE MEDICATED WATEES. 85 

wasting, a very annoying circumstance, which is especially liable to 
occur when the vessel, whether a flask, a vial, or an evaporating 
dish, is furnished with no lip, or a very poor one, for pouring. 

A useful precaution in pouring liquids from bottles may be men- 
tioned in this connection. It nearly always happens that the last 
drop or two of the liquid being poured remains on the lip of the 
bottle, and is liable, if the lip is ill formed, to run down the outside; 
this may be obviated by touching the stopper to the edge where the 
liquid is collected, thus transferring it to the stopper previous to 
inserting it in the neck of the bottle. 

Much of the nitration in pharmacy has for its object the separa- 
tion of the insoluble ligneous portions of vegetable medicines, after 
they have been sufficiently macerated. A practical difficulty in this 
case is deserving of mention here. If a measured portion, say one 
pint of liquid, has been macerated with two, four, or six ounces of 
a vegetable substance for the purpose of making a tincture or infu- 
sion, and, after the proper lapse of time, the whole is thrown upon 
a filter, the clear liquid that will pass will measure as much less 
than a pint as the vegetable substance holds by its capillary attrac- 
tion. In order to obtain the whole quantity desired, some have 
diluted the filtered liquid till it reached precisely the required mea- 
sure; but by the discovery of the principle of displacement (see chap- 
ter on Displacement), it is found that if an additional portion of a liquid 
be presented to the saturated powder, under favorable circumstances, 
it will displace the original menstruum remaining in its pores. To 
secure this is more important, from the fact that it is usually most 
highly impregnated with the active principles of the plant ; and, 
therefore,, in transferring the macerated preparation to a filter, the 
swollen mass of powder should be carefully compacted into the filter, 
and after the liquid has drained off, a fresh portion of a similar liquid 
should be added till the preparation measures the quantity origin- 
ally intended. 

Rose-water is the only medicated water directed by the Phar- 
macopoeia to be made by distillation. This is very much employed 
in prescription, for the preparation of solutions of nitrate of silver, 
as a substitute for distilled water. It is liable to undergo a 
change, depositing a sediment, and becoming quite sour if long 
kept, especially in warm weather. On this account, and in conse- 
quence of the greater facility and cheapness of the process, some 
pharmaceutists make rose-water in the same way as the other medi- 
cated waters, by triturating the oil or attar of rose with magnesia, 
and then with water, and afterwards filtering. The proportions 
usually employed are four drops of the oil to a pint of water ; when 
made in this way, however, it is not so well adapted to the uses 
above mentioned, though preferred for flavoring pastry, &c. 

Carbonic acid water is frequently, though incorrectly, called 
soda water; its proper synonym is mineral water. In most large 



86 ON SOLUTION, FILTRATION, AND MEDICATED WATERS. 

cities, the manufacture of this is a separate branch of business, and 
it is purchased by the apothecary in copper fountains lined with 
tin, holding about 15 gallons. The chief impurities to which it is 
liable are the carbonates of copper and lead, derived from the foun- 
tain and pipe from which it is drawn. These, particularly the 
former, render carbonic acid water not only worthless, but abso- 
lutely injurious; they may be detected by the metallic taste they 
impart to it, by the addition of ammonia, which gives a blue tint to 
the salts of copper, and by the ferrocyanide of potassium, which 
gives a garnet-colored precipitate, if copper is present. Iodide of 
potassium indicates the presence of lead by a yellow precipitate. 

The chief use of carbonic acid water in prescription is for dissolv- 
ing saline substances, in making aperient draughts, for suspending 
magnesia, for making solutions of citrate of potassa, and, occasion- 
ally, for use by itself as a grateful drink to allay thirst and lessen 
nausea. As a vehicle for magnesia or saline cathartics, eight fluid- 
ounces are usually prescribed, to be taken at once, or in divided 
portions frequently repeated. It parts with the gas upon exposure, 
and should, therefore, be used as soon as possible after the cork has 
been drawn. Sometimes, when prescribed in small doses, it is dis- 
pensed in one ounce or two ounce vials, the contents of each being 
taken separately, while cold and in a state of effervescence, pre- 
ferably, directly from the mouth of the vial. 

Chlorine icater, which is officinal in the Dublin and Edinburgh 
Pharmacopoeias, and in the Appendix to the London, is made by 
connecting a bottle adapted to generating chlorine gas, and con- 
taining muriatic acid and binoxide of manganese, with a vessel of 
pure water. It is used chiefly as an antiseptic, and resembles our 
officinal liquor sodae chlorinata?, though stronger. 

The medicated waters of this class seem to belong properly to the 
chemical preparations, with liquor ammoniae, &c. ; but, in the Phar- 
macopoeias, carbonic acid water and chlorine water are exceptions, 
and placed among aquae medicates. 

The great interest that attaches to mineral water from its very 
general and increasing use as a beverage, induces me to introduce 
in this place a notice of some of the forms of apparatus adapted to 
its preparation, since the invention of which many apothecaries 
have commenced to prepare the article for themselves. 

Fig. 99 represents Bernhard's apparatus and fountains. A is 
the acid ball. B is the generator, in which the gas is generated 
for charging the fountain. C C two washers for purifying the 
gas as it passes from the generator to the fountains. D D 
the two fountains; these fountains differ from all others; being 
composed of iron with the inside surface enamelled, making it im- 
possible for the mineral water manufactured in them to be conta- 
minated with copper salts. E is the gauge for ascertaining the 
pressure of gas on the machine. F is the lever attached to the rod 
H, which connects with a glass valve at ff, between the acid ball A 



MINERAL WATER APPARATUS. 



and the generator B. G is the opening through which the acid 
ball is supplied. H shows the position of the improved glass valve. 
The advantages of this valve over those of lead, are, that it is per- 

Fig. 99. 




Bernhard & Co.'s mineral water apparatus. 

fectly tight, and more durable. I is the opening to supply the 
generator. K is the pipe connecting the acid ball and generator 
for equalizing the pressure. L is the pipe connecting the generator 
and gauge, for ascertaining the pressure of gas in charging it. M 
is the pipe through which the gas passes to the washers. N is the 
pipe through which the gas passes from the washers to the foun- 
tains. is a shaft that passes horizontally through the generator, 
with paddles attached for the purpose of mixing the ingredients in 
the generator. P, attached to the generator, is a waste cock 
through which the sulphate of lime is drawn off. P P, attached 
to the washers, are waste cocks through which the impure water is 
drawn off. Q is the opening to supply the washers with pure 
water. B is the stopcock on fountains. 8 is the crank by which 
the fountains are turned in the operation of mixing the gas with 
the water. 



88 ON SOLUTION, FILTRATION, AND MEDICATED WATERS. 

Bernhardt apparatus has the great advantage of enamelled cast 
iron fountains, which produce water invariably free from copper 
and lead, and of an improved glass valve, which appears to possess 
the merit of durability, besides resisting the solvent action of the 
acidulated water. A number of them are used with success by 
apothecaries, who find them a source of no small profit. The price 
of the apparatus varies from $235 to $400, according to size. 

Quantities of Ingredients required for the manufacture of from five to 
six Fountains of Mineral Water. 

For acid ball, 32 lbs. acid. 
" generator, 40 lbs. carbonate of lime or whiting, 15 gals, water. 
" each washer, 1J gal. water. 
" each fountain, 12 gals, water, or two-thirds full. 

Instructions for Operating. — Mix the whiting with a portion or 
the whole of the water intended for the generator, so as to have it 
in a perfectly fluid state; be careful to have it free from stones 
or any other hard substances. 

Then pour the mixture through the opening in generator marked 
i" in the plate. Pour the acid into the ball through the opening 
marked G. See that the valve II H is perfectly closed before 
pouring, and that the acid is free from any foreign matter, such as 
the substance with which the neck of the carboy is sealed, &c. &c. 
Fill the washers with water through the opening Q about two- 
thirds full, say 1J gal. to each. 

Unscrew the cocks R on the fountains, and fill them with water 
through the opening, about two-thirds full, or about 12 gals, to 
each, which done, replace the cocks. 

Screw up all the caps, connecting-screws, &c., perfectly tight; 
open the cocks on pipes iTand M\ shut the cock on pipe JVand 
washer C— the apparatus is then ready for operating. Then, with 
the left hand, raise the valve H by means of the lever F about one- 
quarter inch, at the same time turn the crank on with the right 
hand very slowly (this is for the purpose of mixing the acid with 
the whiting in the generator), keeping your eye on the pressure 
gauge, in order to ascertain at what rate the gas is generating, until 
it indicates a pressure of 120 lbs. 

(It is very requisite that the gas should not generate too fast, in 
which case the whiting, &c, is very apt to rise in the generator, 
and flow over into the washers. The gas should not be generated 
faster than at the rate of about 20 lbs. per minute. Too much care 
cannot be exercised in observing these particulars.) When the 
gauge shows a pressure of 120 lbs., close the valve II, and cease 
turning the crank at 0; open the cock R on fountain, and open 
very gradually the cock on pipe N and washer C. When the gas 
is equalized in generator and fountain, which is known by its 



MINERAL WATER APPARATUS. 89 

ceasing to flow through pipe JSf, turn the cocks at C and P, discon- 
nect the pipe JV from the cock P, and turn the fountain by the 
crank S for about five minutes, for the purpose of mixing the gas 
with the water. Then connect pipe iVand cock P, and proceed to 
generate gas as before until the guage indicates a pressure of 
180 lbs. Draw over gas, until it equalizes ; disconnect, turn, &c, 
as before. Eepeat the operation for the third time, and the foun- 
tain of soda water is ready for use. 

To clean the generator internally, open the cock P under it 
while the pressure of gas is on; when empty, rinse out with clean 
water. 

The water in the washers need not be changed each time of 
manufacturing, but it is better to do so. 

Care should be taken that the stuffing-boxes at H and are at 
all times perfectly tight. 

Nichols 1 s Patent Mineral Water Apparatus. — This is a much smaller, 
more compact, and cheaper apparatus than the foregoing. It is a 
combination fountain made of copper, lined with tin, contains the 
generator of carbonic acid within the water fountain, and occu- 
pies very little more space than an ordinary fountain, such as are 
charged by the mineral water manufacturers and sold to dealers. 
It is best adapted to small establishments, where the demand is 
limited. The price for the 18 gallon size is $150, 10 gallon size 
$125, 7 gallon size $100, for the three gallon supplementary foun- 
tain $15. Figs. 100 and 101, drawn by Baxter for this work, will 
exhibit its construction. A is the body of the fountain, lined on 
the inside with pure block-tin; P, the strong metallic cylinder 
passing through the entire centre of the fountain, lined on the inside 
with lead, and on the outside, where the water comes in contact with 
it, with block-tin; this cylinder has a nut screw, F, on the bottom, 
which is unscrewed after charging to let out the sulphate of soda 
formed in the chamber ; into this cylinder the sulphuric acid is 
poured when about to charge the fountain; upon this acid, bicar- 
bonate of soda is allowed to fall from the soda chamber /. E is 
the valve through which the soda falls from the soda chamber upon 
the acid ; J is the handle of the rod connected with this valve, by 
which the valve is pushed down and opened, or drawn up and 
closed ; this rod extends down into the acid cylinder to act as a 
stirrer of the acid and soda ; the lines at Q, represent strong wires 
in the soda chamber, which revolve with the valve rod and aid in 
throwing down the soda. H is a strong copper vessel, called the 
purifier, lined with block-tin ; this being filled two-thirds full of 
water, the gas, after being formed in the deep cylinder, passes 
through this water, and is thereby washed and cooled. G is the 
handle connected with the " water agitator" rod. D D D are 
strong metallic rings, passing around the acid cylinder and fastened 
to the rod ; by taking hold of the handle C, and drawing up and 



90 ON SOLUTION, FILTRATION, AND MEDICATED WATERS. 

down rapidly in the same way as one would make use of the old 
fashioned churn, the water and the gas in the fountain are mixed 




Nichols's patent mineral water fountain. 1 



and intimately blended together. P P are block tin pipes, passing 
to the bottom of the water in the fountain; one carries the gas from 
the purifier H into the water, and through the other the charged 
water is conveyed out of the fountain to the drawing apparatus. B 
is a safety-valve, which allows the escape of the gas when it reaches 
a pressure that would endanger the apparatus. G and are 

1 These instruments are made for the inventor in Boston, and can be procured of 
the agents, T. Morris Perot & Co., Philadelphia. 



AETIFICIAL SARATOGA WATER. 91 

stopcocks, to shut off or let on the water and gas, as occasion may- 
require; the pipe M, leading up, conveys the charged water up 
to the counter ; the pipe M, leading down, to the supplementary- 
fountain L. The supplementary is a small fountain, holding about 
three gallons, and is filled with the charged water from the large 
fountain, and then shut off by the stopcock ; in process of draw- 
ing from the large fountain, it becomes in time exhausted, and must 
be recharged ; while charging it, which takes about twenty minutes, 
close the stopcock Q-, on the right, and open the stopcock ; this 
will afford a constant supply of water, so that the operator need not 
stop a moment in drawing. K is a stool or bench upon which the 
fountain is to be placed, made high enough to allow a pail to go 
under to catch the contents of the acid cylinder, which are to be 
let out after charging. 

Directions for using. — In using this apparatus, unscrew the soda 
chamber / from the acid cylinder below it, fill it with bicarbonate 
of soda (which should be granulated, not finely powdered) ; close 
the valve E, then pour into the deep cylinder B about three pints 
of sulphuric acid, and screw the soda chamber again in its place, 
fill the purifier two-thirds full of water, the fountain three-fourths 
full. Now open the stopcock G, on the left, press upon the handle 
J, and rattle some of the soda down into the acid ; a brisk action 
commences in the deep cylinder, carbonic acid gas is liberated, which 
accumulates under great pressure ; it is forced through a pipe into 
the water of the purifier, and from thence into the water of the 
fountain. The soda is to be let down somewhat gradually, which 
should take about fifteen or twenty minutes. 

It is stated that a gauge, applied to this machine, marked a pres- 
sure of 180 lbs. to the square inch in fifteen minutes ; 120 lbs. is 
high enough to produce excellent water. 

Bicarbonate of soda has the advantage over whiting or marble 
dust of yielding a much larger proportion of gas ; six pounds of 
bicarbonate should yield, upon decomposition, 180 gallons of pure 
gas, while the same quantity of marble dust yields about 80 gallons. 

The cost of charging a twelve gallon fountain is about fifty cents. 

Artificial Saratoga water may be made as follows: Into a Oj 
tumbler introduce f3j of the following mixture, fill it up with 
carbonic acid water, and drink immediately. 



Mix Chloride of sodium 


. fj. 


" magnesia, solution 1 


• f5ij. 


Bicarbonate of soda 


• 3j- 


Solution of iodine (Lugol's) . 


f3ss. 


Tincture of chloride of iron . 


f5ss. 


Carbonic acid water 


Oiss. 


Filter. 





Commercial muriatic acid saturated with magnesia. 



92 



ON MACEKATION AND THE INFUSIONS. 



CHAPTER III. 



ON MACERATION AND THE INFUSIONS. 



The kind of solution spoken of heretofore is quite simple, and in 
most cases easily accomplished ; but substances which are soluble 
only to a limited extent, or are composed of proximate principles 
associated mechanically, some of which are much more soluble than 
others, as the bark, leaves, wood, &c, of plants, require different and 
less ready modes of treatment. 

The first thing to be done is to reduce the drug to a more or less 
fine powder, or to bruise it, after which the liquid, which in this 
case is called the menstruum, is brought into contact with it. 

When the quantity of the medicinal agent is small in comparison 
with the menstruum, as in most of the iufusions, and where rapidity 
is not an object, the process of maceration is chiefly resorted to. 

This is accomplished in a covered queensware vessel, a common 
pitcher or bowl, for instance, or sometimes in a tin cup or measure, 
care being taken in the case of astringent infusions to avoid the 
use of a defective tin or an iron vessel. Maceration consists in 
pouring the liquid upon the medicinal substance previously 
bruised or coarsely powdered, and allowing it to stand for a greater 
or less period of time, according to circumstances. The longest 

period directed in the Pharmaco- 
jyoeia for infusions is twenty-four 
hours, as in the case of infusion 
of wild cherry ; the shortest, ten 
minutes, as in the case of infusion 
of chamomile. In preparing tinc- 
tures, wines, vinegars, &c, seven or 
fourteen days are generally pre- 
scribed. 

Infusions are best prepared in a 
vessel made for the purpose, figured 
in the drawing, called Alsop's Infu- 
sion Mug, which contains a perfo- 
rated diaphragm 5, near the top, on 
which the substance to be macerated 
is placed, and the liquid introduced 
so as barely to cover this, reaching, 
perhaps, to the line e ; a circulation 
is thus induced and continued in 
Section of Alsop's infusion mug. the liquid by which the least im- 




MACERATION, DIGESTION, AND INFUSION. 



93 



pregnated portions are brought constantly in contact with the drag, 
and the most completely saturated portion, by its greater specific 
gravity, sinks to the bottom. 

Squire's Infusion Pot is an improvement on Alsop's; it is a very 
neat pharmaceutical implement adapted to making the galenical 
liquid preparations generally. In Fig. 103, we have a section, B and 
D, being two cup-shaped perforated diaphragms, either of which may 




Section of Squire's infusion pot. 



be used at pleasure. The vessel must be of such capacity that the 
substance placed on the diaphragm shall be under the surface of 
the liquid when properly filled. A modification of this apparatus 
is used in some large establishments for the preparation of tinc- 
tures ; it -has many advantages over ordinary apparatus for macera- 
tion, and is not unlike displacement in the beauty and efficiency of 
the preparations made in it. 



non differs from maceration in being confined to elevated 
temperatures, yet below the boiling point of the menstruum ; as the 
term is generally employed, it means maceration with continued 
application of heat, and is synonymous- with simmering. 

The term infusion includes both maceration in its more limited 
sense and digestion. It is often applied to the ordinary mode of 
making infusions, which is to pour the hot liquid on the bruised 
drug, and allow it to remain until cool. In a recipe worded with 
due regard to accuracy, if we are directed to macerate for any given 
time, we know that cold infusion is intended; if to digest,, we under- 
stand that hot infusion is desired.. 

In making tinctures, digestion is often very useful, particularly 
where rapidity is an object, and where we- wish to form a very con- 
centrated preparation. 

Of the proximate principles of plants, it may be remarked that 
hot water has the property of dissolving the starch, and cold water 
the vegetable albumen, and both dissolve the gum, sugar, extractive, 



94 ON MACERATION" AND THE INFUSIONS. 

and other principles liable to fermentation ; the absence of any 
antiseptic in infusions and decoctions renders them extremely prone 
to undergo change on exposure to the atmosphere. 

When it is desirable to preserve these aqueous solutions for a 
longer period than a day or two, they should be bottled while hot, 
the bottle being filled completely and corked tightly, so as to ex- 
clude the air, and then set aside in a cold place in an inverted posi- 
tion. The addition of small quantities of alcohol, or of some tincture 
not interfering with the medical properties of the infusion, is recom- 
mended where not objectionable. The compound infusion of gen- 
tian and infusion of digitalis are rendered permanent preparations 
by this means. The infusion of wild cherry bark will keep for 
some days without any addition to it, owing to the antiseptic influ- 
ence of hydrocyanic acid it contains. 

The following substances should ^ot be prescribed mixed with 
or dissolved in infusions, being incompatible with one or more of 
the proximate principles usually present in them : Tartrate of anti- 
mony and potassa, corrosive chloride of mercury, nitrate of silver, 
acetate and subacetate of lead ; in some cases, the alkalies, lime- 
water, and tincture of galls, and, in the instance of astringent infu- 
sions, the salts of iron. 

"When mixed with either of the tinctures made with strong alco- 
hol, a resinous precipitate is deposited, and the mixture if strained 
loses much of its activity ; the same is the fact, to a less extent, with 
many of the tinctures made with diluted alcohol. 

Many of the infusions which are clear when freshly prepared, 
become turbid soon after by the deposition of vegetable albumen, 
apotheme, and other insoluble principles ; these are likely to carry 
down with them a portion of the active ingredients. The infusions 
of cinchona prepared by maceration with hot water do not become 
clear, even by filtration through paper. 

Infusions made by maceration may frequently be poured off clear 
from the vessel in which they were prepared, leaving the dregs in 
the bottom ; this, however, is always attended with the loss of the 
last portion of the liquid ; they may be strained through a muslin 
or flannel strainer, and, by using a little force in expressing the 
dregs, very nearly the whole portion of liquid may be obtained, or 
more satisfactorily, by displacement, in filtering them. 

This class of medicinal preparations is the least elegant in use, 
and is mainly confined in this country to domestic practice. Even 
when prescribed by physicians, the infusions are generally made 
by the nurse or attendant upon the sick, rather than by the apothe- 
cary. The infusions of cinchona bark, infusion of digitalis, and 
compound infusion of gentian, form the chief exceptions to this 
rule. 

The process of displacement, treated of in the next chapter, is 
applied with great advantage to some of these preparations, and I 
believe, in a majority of cases, the substitution of cold water for 



SYLLABUS OF INFUSIONS. 



95 



hot, and of displacement for maceration or digestion, would be 
found to produce a more elegant and equally efficient infusion, and 
one which, from containing less coloring matter, fecula, resinous, 
and other inert principles, would keep better, and be more accept- 
able to the stomach. Some experiments, recently reported, tend to 
show the superiority of cold infusion of senna over that made by 
the officinal process. 

When an infusion is intended as an emetic draught, or to pro- 
mote the operation of emetics, or as a diaphoretic, it is usually 
given while hot, and, of course, to all such cases the above remark 
does not apply. Nor is it equally applicable to some of the de- 
mulcent infusions of flaxseed, buchu, and slippery elm, although 
the former may be made very well with cold water, and is then 
less disagreeably oily in its character. 

The following syllabus is offered as presenting the whole offici- 
nal class of infusions, so that the student may conveniently study 
their composition, proportions, mode of preparation, and uses. 



SYLLABUS OF INFUSIONS. 
INFUSA, U. S. P. 

First Class. — Made with boiling water, by maceration. 







Group L- 


-5 to o. 


■ 


Infusum Cinchonse Flavae, 






Tonic. 


" " Rubrae 






do. 


" Cascarillse, 






Stimulant, tonic. 


" Eupatorii, 






Tonic. — Given hot as a dia- 
phoretic and emetic. 


" Krameriae, 






Astringent. 


" Sarsaparillae, 






Alterative, diaphoretic. 


Ulmi, 






Demulcent. 


" Buchu, 






Demulcent, diuretic. 


" Armoraciae (with Mustard-seed, §j), 


Stimulant, diuretic. 


" Sennae (with Coriander, §j) 




Cathartic. 




Gkoup II.- 


-gss to Oj. 


Infusum Angusturas, 






Stimulant, tonic. 




' Anthemidis, 






Tonic ; emetic, when hot. 




' Colombae, 






Tonic. 




1 Serpentariae, 






Tonic. 




' Valerianae, 






Stimulant ; antispasmodic. 




' Capsici, 






Arterial stimulant. Dose, f^ss. 




' Zingiberis, 






Carminative. 




• Humuli, 






Tonic ; mild narcotic. 




' Spigeliae, 

" Catechu Comp. (C 

" Lini Comp. (Liqu 






Anthelmintic. 




Jinnamon, 


33), 


Astringent. 




orice Root 


3*j), 


Demulcent. 



ON MACERATION AND THE INFUSIONS. 



Group III. — Proportions varied. 



Infusum Caryophylli, 


3»j to Oj. 


Stimulant. 


Rhei, 


do. 


Cathartic. 


" Tabaci, 


3j to Oj. 


Sedative injection in hernia. 


" Digitalis, 


3j to Oss, 


+ Tr. Cinnam.fgj. — Narcotic. 
Dose, f^ij. (Withering's.) 


" Rosas Compositum, 


5es to Oiiss, 


+ Sugar, Diluted Sulphuric 
Acid, Water. — Adjuvant to 
astringent gargles. 


" Taraxaci, 


lij to Oj. 


Diuretic. 


Second Class. — Made with cold ivater, by maceration or 




displacement. 




Infusum Cinchonas Comp., 


3J to Oj, 


and Aromat. Sulph. Acid, fjj. 
— Tonic. 


" Pruni Yirginianas, 


388 tO Oj. 


Sedative, tonic. 


" Quassioe, 


3ij to Oj. 


Tonic. 


" Gentianas Comp., 


3ss to Oj. 


-+- Bitter Orange-peel, Cori- 
ander, Dil. Ale, Water. — 
Tonic. 


" Sassafras Medullas, 


3j to Oj. 


Demulcent. 



The general dose of infusions is fsij, or a wineglassful frequently- 
repeated. This is to be varied in the case of infusion of senna, 
compound infusion of flaxseed, and others, in which a much larger 
quantity may be taken at a draught. 

There are two infusions which it would be improper to give in 
the above general dose ; these are infusion of digitalis, and infu- 
sion of capsicum ; both are given in doses of a tablespoonful or less. 
The chief use of infusion of sassafras pith is as an external applica- 
tion to inflamed eyes. 

Compound infusion of rose is said to be an excellent addition to 
Epsom salts in solution, for overcoming its bitterness. 

Unofficinal Infusions. 

An immense number of substances are frequently prescribed in 
the form of infusion, which it would be unnecessary to introduce 
here; in fact, it is a common way of prescribing most of the vege- 
table tonics and alteratives. The following compounds are some- 
times prescribed, and seem to belong in this place: — 



Dr. Mettauer's Aperient. 




Take of Aloes (soc.) 

Bicarb, soda .... 


. 3v. 
• 3xj. 


Valerian (contused) 1 

Water 


. Oj. 


Comp. spirit of lavender 
Make an infusion. 


. f5vj 



Dose. — A tablespoonful containing about 9 grs. aloes, 20 
bicarb, of soda, and 14 of valerian. As a laxative for constipa- 
tion, &c. 

1 Some recipes omit the valerian. 



THE DISPLACEMENT PROCESS. 



97 



Elixir Glauderi. 




R. Carbonate potassa 




• • *j- 


Aloes .... 


. 


• • 3ij. 


Guaiacum 


, 


. • 3ij- 


Myrrh 




. • 3ij. 


Saffron 




• • 3ij- 


Khubarb (contused) 




• • 3ij- 


Water 




. fgxvnj. 


Macerate a few days and decant 


. Dose, 


a tablespoonful. 



Physick\ Medicated Lye, or Alkaline Solution. 

Take of Hickory ashes 3 viij. 

Soot ....... 3j. 

Water ....... Cong.j. 

Digest for 24 hours and strain. Dose, a wineglassful. 



CHAPTER IV. 



PERCOLATION, OR THE DISPLACEMENT PROCESS. 



The displacement proeess is the neatest, most rapid and produc- 
tive method for extracting the soluble principles from vegetable 
substances. It is directed in the United States Pharmacopoeia, for 
preparing a large number of the officinal tinctures, wines, vinegars, 
syrups, fluid extracts, extracts, and some of the infusions. It is 
frequently coupled, however, with directions for the employment 
of maceration, so that a physician or pharmaceutist, who may not 
have acquired a practical knowledge of its details, may choose the 
older and more familiar process for their preparation. 

As a number of the most concentrated officinal preparations 
cannot be made by any other process, and as this possesses advan- 
tages in nearly every case, a knowledge of it is justly regarded as 
indispensable to the pharmaceutist, and the physician who may be 
called upon to practise pharmacy. 

History. — The proeess of displacement has been employed from 
time immemorial, in the preparation of coffee in the celebrated 
Gafetihe de Doubelhy, an instrument much used in France, and 
occasionally in this country at the present time. It consists of an 
ordinary tin coffee-pot, surmounted by a movable cylinder, usually 
varying from 3 to 5 or 6 inches in diameter, and from 8 to 10 
inches in length, and which contains two perforated diaphragms, 
7 



98 PERCOLATION, OR THE DISPLACEMENT PROCEbS 

one permanent and soldered on to the lower extremity of the 
cylinder, and the other movable, so as to be supported either upon 
the top of the mass of coffee in using the apparatus, or upon a pro- 
jection in a movable upright tube, open at both ends, and so 
situated as to allow the free passage of the air from the lower to 
the upper part of the vessel. 

The French coffee-pot is a displacement apparatus of convenient 
construction, and had been long celebrated for the production of a 
clear and strong coffee, possessing a finer aroma than that made by 
decoction, but, until the year 1833, the idea seems not to have 
occurred of applying it to the production of pharmaceutical prepa- 
rations. This application is due to M. Boullay and Son, French 
pharmaciens, who, by their admirable and well conducted experi- 
ments, first demonstrated the adaptation of displacement to the 
general purposes of the shop and laboratory, drew the attention of 
the profession to its merits, and pointed out the best forms of 
apparatus, and the best modes for using them. 

In 1838, Augustine Duhamel, a scientific apothecary of Phila- 
delphia, since deceased, published in the American Journal of 
Pharmacy, vol. x. p. 1, the first communication upon the new 
process accessible to American pharmaceutists. In the following 
year, in connection with William Procter, Jr., now Professor of 
Pharmacy in the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, he engaged 
further attention to the subject, in an able article of the same 
Journal, vol. xi. p. 189, in which a series of careful experiments 
in the preparation of extracts, tinctures, infusions and syrups were 
detailed, which so conclusively proved the superiority of this over 
the ordinary processes in use, that intelligent apothecaries generally 
were induced to try and eventually to adopt it. 

The process of displacement so far found favor with the Com- 
mittee having under care the decennial revision of the Pharma- 
copoeia in 1810, that it was sanctioned to a considerable extent in 
the edition of our national standard of that year. At the present 
time, displacement is so extensively employed in the preparation 
of the Galenical solutions, as to a great extent to supersede the old 
process of maceration. 

The Apparatus. — In describing the common forms of displace- 
ment apparatus, I shall confine myself chiefly to the more simple 
and extemporaneous kinds adapted to the physician's office. 

The common tin displace? consists of a cylinder varying in size, 
but at least twice as long as its diameter, terminated at one end 
by a funnel, the neck of which is made small enough to insert 
conveniently into a common tincture or narrow mouth packing 
bottle; two perforated diaphragms of the size of the cylinder, and 
loosely fitting into it; each of these has a small ring of wire sol- 
dered on to it to facilitate its removal. Sometimes these cylinders 
are made larger at top, tapering toward the lower end, but there is 



THE APPARATUS. 



no advantage in this shape over straight sides, as shown in the 
drawings. The lower diaphragm should be of finely perforated 
tin plate; the finest sold is not objectionable, while the upper may 
be made of ordinary tinned iron, pierced with comparatively large 
holes. Occasionally the lower diaphragm is soldered to a very 
small tin tube, open at both ends, of nearly the length of the 
cylinder, near the top of which is a ledge on which the upper dia- 



Fig. 104. 



Fig. 105. 





Fig. 106. 



Fig. 107.. 



Tin displacer, with upper and lower diaphragm. 

phragm is made to rest, as in the French coffee-pot and in the air- 
tight displacer, Fig. Ill; the object of this is to allow the passage 
of air from the lower or receiving vessel into the top of the 
cylinder. 

The Queensware Displacer. — This is the same as the above, in 
the material is considered more 
cleanly ; it is not liable to corrosion with 
acid liquids, nor to impart a black color 
and metallic taste to solutions of the vege- 
table astringents. 

The Common Funnel. — This may be em- 
ployed for displacement, by inserting a 
ping of carded cotton, or of fine sponge 
into the neck, and by using a piece of per- 
forated paper, or some thin cotton cloth, 
or other fabric for the upper diaphragm. 

Lamp- Chimney Displacer s. — No form of 
apparatus is so cheap and convenient for 
small operations as ordinary lamp-chim- 
neys, either plain (Fig. 108) or with bulb (Fig. 109). The smaller 
end of the chimney is filled with a cork cut so as to allow the free 
passage of the liquid, at the same time that it affords a mechanical 
support to the mass, or covered with a piece of gauze, book-muslin, 
or other coarse fabric, tied securely by a string round the chimney 




Porcelain displacer, with 
two diaphragms. 



100 PERCOLATION, OR THE DISPLACEMENT PROCESS. 



near its lower edge, and a little carded cotton being placed on it> 
the under diaphragm is rendered complete ; the upper one may be 
made of paper, when necessary, as before described, or, where the 
diameter is small, may be omitted. 



Fig. 108. 



Fig. 109. 





Lamp-chimney displacers with supports. 

These having no funnel-shaped terminations, require to be in- 
serted in a wide mouth bottle; one which answers the purpose 
should be selected and always kept at hand ; a piece of thick paste- 
board, or other firm substance, may be used as a support for an 
apparatus of this description, by cutting a hole in it of the required 
size, so as to suspend it over a dish, or by the aid of a retort stand 
into a suitable jar or measure, as shown in Figs. 108 and 109. Lamp- 
chimneys with bulbs are still more convenient in this respect. 

Fig. Ill represents a tin displacer with a water joint near the 
top for covering and preventing evaporation, in making ethereal or 
other very volatile preparations ; the little tube e serves for the 
escape of the air from the lower vessel B, so as to equalize the 
atmospheric pressure between the top of the air-tight displacer and 
the receiving bottle ; the lower diaphragm a, is soldered on to the 
top of this tube, and the upper diaphragm rests on it ; c repre- 
sents the gutter into which the top d fits, and which, being filled 
with water, constitutes an air-tight connection. The displacer fits 
into the narrow mouth bottle either by the aid of a cork or not, as 
the case may require. 



THE APPARATUS. 



101 



Broken Bottles. — A portion of the broken bottles in a shop have 
the bottom cracked -uniformly off, which is likely to occur when 
hot liquids are poured into them: they furnish a cylinder-shaped 



Fig. 111. 



Fig. 110. 





Receiving bottle for displacement. 



Tin displacer for volatile liquids. 



vessel not unlike the tin displacement apparatus above described ; 
a plug of cotton is used for a diaphragm, as in the case of the 
funnel. The bottoms of bottles may be cracked off for this pur- 
pose by passing gradually round them a red-hot rod of iron in 
contact with the glass, and removing the sharp edge by a file ; or 
by inserting the bottle in a shallow vessel of cold water, so as to be 
immersed just up to the line to be fractured, and filling it to the 
same line with water, then pouring in a sufficient quantity of oil 
of vitriol suddenly to raise the temperature on the inside, the bot- 
tom will generally drop out. 

I have recently had made the very convenient and economical 
glass displacement funnel (Fig. 112). These are made of three sizes, 
the larger three and a-half inches in diameter, and eight inches in 
length, exclusive of the neck ; it is in shape like a broken bottle, 
but thicker and more uniform, and with a smooth edge at both 
ends ; the neck is drawn out with the view to inserting it into a 
bottle, and it may be conveniently covered with a suitable piece of 
glass when desirable. No diaphragms accompany the apparatus ; 
sponge, cotton, or broken glass is invariably used. 



102 PERCOLATION, OR THE DISPLACEMENT PROCESS. 



Availing ourselves of the very cheap and common production of 
syringes from glass tubes, which extend to one and a-quarter inch 



Fig. 112. 



Fig. 113. 





Glass displacer. 



Small syringe pattern displacer 



in diameter, and can be furnished at a very low price, we have 
procured the apparatus represented in Fig. 113. It is a glass 
syringe of the largest size, without the piston or cap. It can only 
be used for small operations, for which, however, it is well adapted. 
In treating Spanish flies and other substances with ether, Ave have 
found it convenient from the facility with which the top can be 
corked up, preventing evaporation ; a variety of preparations may 
be conveniently made with the syringe pattern displacer. 

For reasons that will more fully appear when speaking of the 
process, it is necessary that the receiving vessel should be of such 
size as to hold precisely the quantity it is proposed to make, or be 
suitably graduated to this quantity. A convenient plan adopted 
in the school of practical pharmacy, where a variety of preparations 
are going on at the same time, is to mark upon a narrow slip of 
paper, the name and quantity of the preparation about being made, 
and paste this upon the receiving vessel, before commencing the 
process, in such a position that when the required quantity has 
passed it will just reach the top of the slip of paper ; if a gra- 
duated measure of sufficient capacity is used, the necessity of this 
is obviated. It is convenient to a physician for his office purposes 
to keep one or more graduated bottles, made by pasting a slip of 



THE APPARATUS AND PROCESS. 



103 




ei r 









Graduated receiving 
bottle. 



paper longitudinally on the bottles marked with a pen, to the 
fjviii, fjx, fjxii, Oj, and f^xx denominations, as shown in this cut : 
the paper may be rendered impervious to mois- 
ture by collodion or other varnish. Fi g- H4. 

The Process. — The following may be given as 
a general direction for the treatment of substances 
by displacement : — 

Saturate the substance in the form of powder, 
with the appropriate menstruum, and after ma- 
ceration (if necessary) transfer it to the appa- 
ratus for displacement; pack it more or less 
tightly in the cylinder, and gradually add suffi- 
cient of the menstruum to make, when it has 
passed, the required quantity of the preparation, 
care being taken to return the first portions 
of the liquid till it passes clear, and not faster 
than drop by drop. 

Notwithstanding the apparent simplicity of this 
manipulation, skill in managing it is only attain- 
able by experience, and hence the care observable 
throughout the U. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1840, and 
even in that of 1850, to present directions for 
maceration with those for displacement, thus giving to the operator 
a choice of either process, and also enjoining a more or less pro- 
tracted maceration previous to displacement. 

With a view to imparting a preliminary knowledge of this pro- 
cess, which will facilitate the attainment of a practical familiarity 
with its details, I proceed to state the principal facts and circum- 
stances which experience has suggested as important to be observed. 

The fineness of the powder must be regulated by the nature of 
the substance and the menstruum ; very porous and mucilaginous 
substances, as rhubarb, squill and gentian roots, senna, conium, and 
buchu leaves, colocynth pulp, &c, are treated most conveniently 
in coarse powder, such as will pass through a sieve of six meshes to 
the square inch, or still coarser. While hard and close-grained 
drugs, such as stramonium, and most other seeds, quassia wood, ser- 
pentaria, valerian, and black snakeroots, and aconite and matico 
leaves, should be in comparatively fine powder. AVater and diluted 
acetic acid, as a general rule, require coarser powders than diluted 
alcohol, and the latter menstruum coarser than alcohol and ether. 

Previous maceration, though directed in nearly every instance in 
the Pharmacopoeia, is not necessary, except in a few cases ; the direc- 
tion is there given for the purpose of guarding against the effects 
of careless manipulation, and it is an excellent precaution to insure 
the material being thoroughly permeated by the fluid, which may 
otherwise fail of taking place, owing to careless packing, or to a 
too partial division of it. 



104 PERCOLATION, OR THE DISPLACEMENT PROCESS. 

Porous materials, such as swell very much on the addition of a 
liquid, and some ligneous powders, which part with their active 
principles with difficulty, require to be previously moistened and 
allowed to macerate as designated in the Pharmacopoeia, while many 
barks, roots, and leaves, may be introduced in the state of dry 
powders, and small portions of the menstruum being successively 
added with judgment and care, the preparation may be quite as 
thoroughly made as by the first named process. 

One of the best criterions by which to measure the complete- 
ness of the process is its rapidity ; if the addition of a portion of 
the menstruum above is accompanied by a brisk stream running 
from the lower end of the apparatus into the vessel below, the pro- 
cess of displacement is going on but partially or not at all ; it will 
then be necessary either to repack it again, or to cork it up below, 
and allow the material to macerate until it has fully swelled up, 
and the fine particles have settled more completely into the inter- 
stices of the mass. 

If, on the contrary, the addition of the fresh fluid fails to displace 
any portion of that with which the mass has been saturated, the 
whole may require to be removed from the apparatus and more 
loosely packed; or, as is sometimes done, the addition of a con- 
siderable column of the liquid, by its greater hydrostatic pressure, 
may be made to overcome the difficulty ; and after it has once com- 
menced to pass slowly, it will increase in rapidity until the whole 
of the preparation is obtained. 

The inching of the powder in the apparatus, whether it be dry 
or previously moistened, is an important point in conducting dis- 
placement ; in this, as in regulating the fineness of the powder, 
reference must be had to the nature of the substance treated, and 
of the menstruum. Drugs of a porous structure, when dry, require 
to be rather loosely packed to allow for the swelling produced on 
the addition of the liquid, though, if previously moistened, they 
may be somewhat compressed : hard, ligneous seeds or roots, should 
be tightly packed. The packing should be accomplished at intervals, 
during the filling in of the powder, so as to be uniform throughout 
the cylinder. 

Repassing the first portions of the Liquid. — In a majority of cases 
the liquid first passes clouded, portions of powder sometimes being 
found in the receiving vessel, or the soluble principles, partially dis- 
solved, having escaped through the diaphragm. In these instances, 
the liquid should be returned into the cylinder until it passes per- 
fectly clear; it is, also, a good precaution in almost every case, 
where maceration has been omitted, to return the first portions of 
the liquid until they appear nearly saturated, reserving a portion 
to be added after the strength of the mass is nearly extracted. In 
making the saturated preparations, such as tincture of aconite root 
and wine of colchicum root, this precaution is especially important, 
and the necessity for its observance is increased in proportion to 



DISPLACEMENT APPLIED TO GUM RESINS. 105 

the rapidity with which the process is conducted, and to the quan- 
tity of material to be exhausted. 

When a substance in sufficiently fine powder has been mace- 
rated (if necessary), and then properly packed in an apparatus, so 
that on the addition of the liquid above it will pass drop by drop, 
and, the first portions being returned, give a clear and very strong 
preparation, the last portions of liquid will pass almost destitute of 
the soluble principles contained in the drug. This is the clearest 
indication of the success of the experiment ; it also proves that, by 
displacement, we may entirely obviate the necessity of any means 
of expressing the last portions of liquid from a porous mass. 

In making preparations by displacement, we should aim by skil- 
ful manipulation to extract nearly all from the drug that is soluble 
before adding the last few ounces of the menstruum, which may 
be used to displace the last portion held by the dregs, and to dilute 
the liquid to the proper point. 

After maceration, the dregs are almost always saturated with the 
strongest portion of the liquid, which is wasted unless some means 
of expression are resorted to ; but, if the dregs be thrown upon a 
filter, and a portion of water or other convenient liquid be poured 
upon it, the last drop may sometimes be forced out without a resort 
to the troublesome process of expression. 

If the liquid thus added to the dregs is different from the men- 
struum originally employed, and especially if it is a heavier liquid, 
it is liable to mix with it, and sometimes results in injury to the 
preparation. By adding about one-third less of the displacing 
liquid than the supposed quantity of menstruum remaining in the 
dregs, this inconvenience is generally obviated. 

In the preparation of a tincture it will sometimes happen that 
the last portion cannot be recovered by adding water. In making 
large quantities of alcoholic extracts or tinctures, made with strong 
alcohol, this is a great loss, and requires the use of a press. Con- 
venient screw-presses are made in this city, and sold at eight dollars. 
The cylinder is of tinned iron, with strong bands to give it strength, 
and the screw is of wood. This is a useful instrument to the phar- 
maceutist in several processes. 

Of the Solution of Gum Resins, cfrc, in Displacement Apparatus. — 
This class of vegetable products are usually so soluble in the men- 
strua employed for their extraction as to render it a matter of little 
importance whether they are treated by maceration or displacement. 
They should be thoroughly divided in order to expose an extended 
surface to the action of the liquid, and, if displaced, should be mixed 
with an equal bulk of sand to facilitate the process ; when made by 
maceration, they require to be filtered to free them from impurities 
suspended in them, the necessity of which is obviated when they 
are treated by displacement. It has been stated that tincture of 
kino made by the displacement process is less disposed to gelatinize 
than that made by maceration, and there can be little doubt of this, 



106 PERCOLATION, OR THE DISPLACEMENT PROCESS. 



especially when the macerated article is allowed to stand in its 
dregs. 

The management of this process requires the frequent attention 
of the manipulator to add fresh portions of the menstruum from 
time to time ; but, if displacement is fairly commenced, the first por- 
tions having been returned as often as necessary, and coming through 
slowly and clear as above described, the following arrangement for 
continuous displacement may be adopted: — 

A bottle or globe, capable of containing the quantity of men- 
struum necessary to complete the preparation, is fitted with a per- 
forated cork, in which is inserted a glass tube of such length as that, 
being inverted over the displacement cylinder, the tube will descend 
below the surface of the liquid contained in it. The lower end of 
the tube should have a short curve turned on it; the bottle or globe 
being filled and arranged in this manner will not discharge any of 
its contents into the displacer until the surface of the liquid con- 
tained in it falls below the extremity of the tube; a bubble of air 
will then pass up into the bottle, and a corresponding portion of the 
liquid will descend. In this way the supply in the displacer will 
be kept up until the bottle has emptied itself; and, if the quantity 
of the liquid has been accurately estimated, the preparation will be 
finished without further attention. 

Instead of having merely a straight piece of tube inserted in the 

mouth of the bottle from which the liquid is supplied, two tubes 

may be used, as shown in Fig. 115. In this case, the afflux tube a 

is turned up at the end, as recommended above, and as the liquid 

runs out here air enters at h. The surface 

of the liquid into which a is immersed, 

must, however, be so far below the lowest 

point of I as to enable the air to depress 

the liquid in the external ascending part of 

6, and thus to enter the bottle. 

The size of the tubes must be also so ar- 
ranged that the liquid will not run from a 
unless the orifice of the tube be in contact 
with the contents of the filter, so that the co- 
hesive attraction of the liquid may overcome 
the capillary attraction. 

The process of displacement is very similar 
in its modus operandi to that of filtration ; 
both are due to capillary attraction. In 
ordinary filtration the capillarity of the 
paper causes the absorption of a certain 
quantity of liquid, but, on more than enough to wet it being added, 
the pressure of this drives out the first, taking its place and so on. 
Precisely the same thing occurs in displacement ; a porous substance 
being saturated with any liquid for which it has an affinity will 
yield this up, if a portion of liquid be poured on above, from the 



Wis. 115. 





11 
















^ ' 




1 : :";" 


, - j. 




T 



Bottle for continuous filtra- 
tion and displacement. 



MANAGEMENT OF THE PEOCESS. 107 

force of gravitation merely; and hence, in proportion to the height 
of the column of liquid, other things being equal, will be the 
rapidity of the process. 

The fact that alcohol and ether pass through most plants so much 
more rapidly than water, is due, perhaps, in part to these liquids 
being less forcibly held by this species of attraction; but mainly 
to their dissolving less freely the organic proximate principles most 
abounding in plants, and which render aqueous liquids so thick and 
viscid as to pass with difficulty. 

Rhubarb, senna, squill, and a few other porous substances, con- 
taining a large proportion of mucilaginous and extractive matters, 
cannot be conveniently treated by displacement with aqueous 
liquids owing to this cause; in treating these, either by water, 
diluted alcohol, diluted acetic acid, or any other menstruum con- 
taining a considerable proportion of water, the following points are 
to be observed : — 

a. The powder must not be too fine. 

b. The coarse powder must be macerated with the menstruum 
before being introduced into the displacer; or, when it is intro- 
duced dry, it must be at first loosely packed, otherwise, being 
swelled very much on the absorption of the liquid, it may become 
too tight. 

c. The displacer must have a wide, and rather coarse diaphragm; 
it would be impossible to manage the process in a common funnel 
with a plug of cotton in the tube, as described on p. 99. 

d. When the process proceeds with difficulty, from the causes 
above described, or from otherwise defective manipulation, it may 
be partly obviated by adding a considerable column of the men- 
struum above the mass; this, as already stated, acting by hydro- 
static pressure, forces the liquid through with increased facility. 

e. Time and patience will to a certain extent correct the same 
difficulty ; after the first portions of the liquid, which pass so slowly 
from being highly charged with the soluble principles, and from 
the continued swelling of the powder, the remaining volume will 
come through more readily, increasing in rapidity to the end. 

/. The admixture of sand serves a good purpose in this case, as 
in that of the gum resins. 

g. Alcohol, diluted in various quantities with water, is used 
instead of water alone, in making by displacement fluid extract of 
senna, fluid extract of pink-root and senna, syrup of rhubarb, syrup 
of seneka, compound syrup of squill, and perhaps some other pre- 
parations, mainly on account of the difficulty above referred to. 

Displacement, applied to hot liquids, requires some modification, 
both as regards the apparatus and the manipulations which next 
claim attention. 

The deterioration to which vegetable infusions are liable, by 
boiling, is adverted to under that head ; the chief use of displace- 



108 PERCOLATION, OR THE DISPLACEMENT PROCESS. 

ment with steam or hot liquids is to obviate this, at the same time 
that the advantages of high temperature are secured. 

The steam displacement apparatus, invented by C. Augustus 
Smith, late of Cincinnati, Ohio, here figured, consists of two dis- 
tinct parts, B, the displacer, and C, the boiler, connected by a tube 
of tin or lead, D. J. is a tin cap luted on to the top of a common 




■^ 



^■'.''"/livy^ V"" ' ".] 



Smith's steam displacer. 



displacement tube terminating in the funnel-shaped appendage 
below. This is surrounded by a tin jacket, into the bottom of 
which the conical tube G conducts cold water, while the spout H 
discharges the warmed water from the top. The substance to be 
treated being placed in the displacer, and the liquid designed to be 
applied to it put into the boiler, the connections are luted on, and 
heat applied by the lamp E, or preferably by a gas furnace. The 
vapor which is generated passes through the tube D, and pene- 
trates the whole mass in the displacer, the jacket being now filled 
with cold water, the steam is condensed and passes out below, 
where it is collected in the receiver F. The advantage is thus 
gained of penetrating the powder thoroughly by the aid of heat, 
while the deteriorating influence of decoction is avoided. 

Eepeated experiments with this instrument have convinced me 
that it possesses advantages over the ordinary means for extraction 
with hot liquids, which should recommend it to general favor ; it 
is not only useful as a substitute for decoction, but obviates the 
difficulty above adverted to of extracting certain porous and largely 
soluble vegetables with water. The steam, whether of water or 
alcohol, being generated in the boiler and passed into the displacer, 



DISPLACEMENT WITH ETHER. 109 

before the addition of cold water to the cooler, is maintained at an 
elevated temperature, until it has thoroughly permeated the mass ; 
it is then, by refrigeration, converted into liquid, ■which finds ready 
egress through the lower orifice of the displacer, and is highly 
charged with the soluble vegetable principles present. The re- 
moval of these added to the pressure of the steam continually kept 
up from the boiler as fast as it is condensed, renders the flow rapid, 
and the preparation concentrated. 

Fluid extract of senna can be prepared in the steam displacer, in 
less than twelve hours, without the use of alcohol as a menstruum ; 
so concentrated is the decoction obtained in the first instance, as to 
require comparatively little evaporation to bring it to the officinal 
standard. 

The apparatus, as above described, is not adapted to treating 
substances with diluted alcohol; if that liquid be placed in the 
boiler, the effect of the heat applied is to drive over the alcohol 
first, and then the water, so that the first portion being stronger of 
the resinous principles, and the latter of the starch and extractive, 
the mixture of the two would be turbid, and the extract not freely 
soluble. To obviate this, two boilers are sometimes adapted to one 
cylinder, one for alcohol, and the other for water, and by a proper 
regulation of the heat to each, the vapors may be brought over in 
nearly equal proportions at the same time. The cylinder should 
not be made of too great diameter, nor length ; but I am informed 
by the inventor, that he uses cylinders of the capacity of a barrel; 
this is perhaps the largest size that would answer well in practice ; 
where larger quantities of the same substance are to be treated at 
once than will fill such a cylinder, or where several different ope- 
rations requiring the same menstruum are to be conducted simul- 
taneously, two or more cylinders may be attached to the same 
boiler, and placed in the same cooler. 

Substances heretofore digested in hot alcohol, a very inconve- 
nient process, may be treated with that menstruum, with great 
facility, by using this apparatus as above described. 

For displacement ivith ether, an ingenious apparatus, invented by 
Prof. Mohr, is figured in his work. It combines the advantages of 
a good air-tight displacer with that of a still for recovering the 
ether ; it is, however, a complex apparatus, and rather expensive. 
I omit a drawing of it, as being accessible in that work, and not 
likely to be generally useful to the class for whom this is mainly 
designed. 

For displacement with ether at ordinary temperatures, especially 
where a small amount of the medicinal substance is to be treated, 
a common displacer may be used, care being taken to cover it and 
the receiving vessel, to prevent evaporation ; a narrow lamp-chim- 
ney, fitting below into a wide-mouth bottle, will be found to serve 
a good purpose, or, if large enough, a syringe pattern displacer. 
An adapter, such as is used in retort operations (Fig. 117, A), may 



110 



OF TINCTURES. 



Fig. 117. 




Extemporaneous glass 
displaccrs. 



be inserted through a perforated cork into a 
convenient bottle, the top being covered with 
a piece of bladder pierced with pin-holes, or 
fitted rather loosely with a cork to prevent 
evaporation. 

Fig. 117 represents two forms of displacers 
for ether and other volatile liquids: A is an 
adapter. The tube C is drawn out into a 
fine point, so as to admit the passage of the 
air without favoring evaporation. E repre- 
sents a notched cork diaphragm, F a broken 
retort beak, suited to similar operations. 

The application of a vacuum to promote 
the rapidity of the displacement process, is an 
important improvement in certain cases, and 
several very ingenious forms of apparatus 
have been contrived by the French with this 
end in view ; perhaps the best of these are the 
coffee-pots, in which the pressure of steam is 
first brought to bear in penetrating the mass 
with the hot liquid, and then by the with- 
drawal of the source of heat, the steam is 
immediately condensed, creating a vacuum 
which hastens the downward passage of the 
liquid. In using Smith's steam displacer, 
though at no time a very complete vacuum is 
formed, yet this principle comes into play, 
and undoubtedly facilitates the percolation of 
the mass under treatment, in the same way 
that it operates in a vacuum displacer. 



CHAPTER V. 

TINCTURES. 



The consideration of the process of displacement has prepared 
the student to enter upon those Galenical solutions in the prepara- 
tion of which it is employed. Prominent among these, as the most 
numerous and most varied, is the class of tinctures. 

The study of these and other Galenical solutions is less attended 
to by students than their importance demands ; in some respects a 
knowledge of pharmaceutical preparations is more important than 



OF TINCTURES. Ill 

a familiarity with the drugs themselves. It is the preparations that 
enter into the prescriptions of the physician almost exclusively; he 
should be acquainted not only with their doses, but with their 
proper therapeutical and pharmaceutical adaptations, as modified 
by the menstrua employed in their preparation, by their degree of 
concentration, their miscibility with other liquids, &c. 

With a view to conveying this knowledge, as far as practicable, 
I shall devote the present chapter to the consideration of the tinc- 
tures officinal in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, and. those unofficinal 
tinctures which are commonly used in this country. 

Tinctures invariably contain alcohol, more or less diluted, as the 
vehicle for their active ingredients. 

Alcohol, as officinal in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, is a colorless, 
limpid, very volatile liquid, of a peculiar penetrating odor, and 
burning taste, having a specific gravity of .835. Its chief impuri- 
ties as found in commerce, are as follow : Water, which increases 
its specific gravity in the ratio of its proportion ; fusel oil, a con- 
stituent of whiskey, which being volatile, though less so than alco- 
hol, is generally imperfectly separated in the distillation : this may 
be detected, by its imparting the peculiar odor of whiskey to the 
alcohol, and particularly by the odor left on the hand, after the 
alcohol has evaporated from it; and coloring matter, which is 
generally derived from the casks in which it is kept. 

Alcohol, of .835 sp. gr., called druggist's alcohol, contains 85 per 
cent, of pure or absolute alcohol ; it is an excellent solvent for a 
large number of vegetable substances, as resins, camphor, benzoic 
acid, tannic acid, the balsams, grape sugar, the vegetable alkalies, 
castor oil; also for some inorganic substances, as iodine, carbonate 
and muriate of ammonia, caustic potassa and soda, nearly all deli- 
quescent, and a few other salts. It mixes freely in all proportions 
with water, ether, acetic acid, and most of the essential oils, and 
reacts with several acids, forming ethers. 

Besides its extensive solvent powers, qualifying it for so many 
uses in pharmacy, it is a most convenient antiseptic, effectually 
preventing fermentation in organic solutions to which it is added. 

By the low temperature at which it evaporates, it is well suited 
to the preparation of certain concentrated medicines, requiring long 
evaporation, and containing volatile ingredients. 

In connection with these valuable physical properties, its thera- 
peutical relations should not be overlooked. Alcohol is a very 
powerful arterial stimulant; even in small quantities it produces 
fulness of pulse, and a general excitant influence on the system ; 
and hence the tinctures, especially those given in large doses, 
should not be used in the treatment of inflammatory diseases, and 
should be employed with prudence in all chronic cases, lest the 
continual stimulus derived from the alcohol they contain, should 
lead to the habitual use of intoxicating drinks. 

The use of this strong alcohol in the preparation of tinctures, is 



112 OF TINCTURES. 

confined to a comparatively small number of medicines, chiefly 
such as contain a considerable proportion of essential oil, of resin, 
or of resinoid principles. 

Diluted Alcohol — Alcohol Dilutum, IT. S. P. — This is more ex- 
tensively employed as a menstruum for tinctures; it consists of 
equal parts by measure of alcohol and water ; its specific gravity 
is .935. Containing water, the great natural solvent, in so large 
proportion, this liquid is capable of extracting from plants, gum, 
extractive matter, vegetable albumen, and most coloring matters 
which are soluble in that menstruum, and to a certain extent, resi- 
nous matters, essential oils, and vegetable alkalies, soluble in alco- 
hol; also sugar and tannic acid, soluble in both. 

It has been supposed that the affinity for each other of the two 
ingredients in this liquid, interferes somewhat with the solvent 
powers of each; so that substances wholly insoluble in water are 
not so thoroughly extracted by a given quantity of diluted alcohol, 
as they would be by half the quantity of strong alcohol; and so in 
the case of substances insoluble in alcohol, they will not be so 
thoroughly extracted by the mixture as by water alone ; but, 
according to the experiments of M. Jaques Personne, published in 
the American Journal of Pharmacy, vol. xviii. pp. 21, 103, the re- 
verse of this is the fact, and a mixture of alcohol and water is 
stated to be a better solvent of the resinous and extractive princi- 
ples of plants, than the same quantity of these two liquids sepa- 
rately employed. 

Whatever may be the truth in theory, diluted alcohol is found 
in practice to answer an excellent purpose; furnishing tinctures 
which are entirely permanent, at the same time that they are less 
stimulating than those made with strong alcohol, and are also mis- 
cible with aqueous solutions without any portion of their active 
principles precipitating. 

There are, no doubt, advantages gained by varying the propor- 
tions of water and alcohol to suit particular drugs. 

There are three preparations officinal in our own Pharmacopoeia, 
which are exceptions in the proportion of alcohol contained in 
them. The infusion of digitalis, and compound infusion of gen- 
tian, as before stated, are rendered permanent by small quantities 
of alcohol added to them, or by being made with very weak diluted 
alcohol. (See Syllabus of Infusions) 

The other is one of the tinctures which I shall for convenience 
notice here, omitting it in the syllabus which follows. 

Composition. Dose. Medical Properties. 

Tinctura Aloes — Aloes, $ss 1 Alcohol, f^iv f^ss Mild cathartic. 

Liquorice, ^iss j Water, f^xii. 

With the object of presenting to view the composition, doses, 
and medical properties of the officinal tinctures, I have prepared 
the following series of Tables. 



SYLLABUS OF TINCTURES. 



113 



SYLLABUS OF TINCTURES. 

Officinal in the U. S. P. 1 

Class I. — Made with Diluted Alcohol. 

Group 1. — These are all made in the proportion of two ounces of the active 
ingredient to one pint of diluted alcohol. They may be nearly all classed 
as narcotics, though with properties modified in each case. Doses vary 
from 10 drops to f 3j. 



Officinal Name. 


Med. Properties. 


Dose. 


Remarks. 


Tinctura aconiti foliorum 


Nervous sedat. 


20 to 30 drops 


See tinct. aconiti 
radicis. 


" belladonnae 


Narcotic 


do. 




" stramonii 


do. 


do. 


Made from the 
seeds. 


" conii 


Alterat.,narcot. 


30 to 60 drops 


Misnamed tinct. 
cicutae. 


" hyoscyami 


Narcotic 


do. 




" digitalis 


Biuret., narcot. 


10 drops 


English leaves 

preferred. 
Emetic dose, f^ss. 


" lobelias 


Emetic, stim., 


f^ss to fjjjj 




narcotic 






" sanguinariae 


do. 


do. 


do. 


" scillae 


Emetic, diuret., 

expect. 
Diuretic, &c. 


10 to 30 drops 


See Acet. scillae. 


" colchici seminis 


10 drops to f^j 


See Vin. & Acet. 



Group 2. — These are made in varying proportions. They are generally quite 
incompatible with salts of iron, forming inky solutions. They are all 
astringents or tonics, or both. Doses, from f^j to f^ss. 



Officinal Name. 


Proportions. 


Dose. 


Med. Properties. 


Tinctura gallas 


oU to Oj 


f.^ij 


Astringent. 


" catechu 


§iss to Oj with ^j cinn. 


do. 


do. 


" kino 


§iss to Oj 


m 


do. 


" krameriae 


|iij to Oj 


do. 


do. 


" cinchonae 


do. yellow bark 
f red bark 
| B. orange peel 
■\ serpentaria 
| saffron 


fgss 


Tonic. 


" comp. 


do. 


do. aromatic. 
(Husham's.) 




[saunders 
Sij to Oj 






" colombae 


do. 


Tonic. 




f gentian 






" gentianaa comp. 


< B. orange peel 
( cardamom 


do. 


do. aromatic. 


" quassiae 


m to oj 


fo-ij 


do. do. 


" bumuli 


gijss to Oj 


do. 


do. sedative.. 



1 See Galenical preparations of opium. 



114 



OF TINCTUEES. 



Group 3. — Of varying proportions, chiefly stimulants and aromatics. Doses, 
generally from f^j to f^y. 



Officinal Name. 


Proportions. 


Dose. 


Med. Properties, etc. 


Tinctura Valerianae 


5\) to Oj 


ftfj 


Tonic, antispasm. 
(See ext. fld.) 


" serpentarice 


Siss do. 


do. 


Stimulant tonic. 


" cubebae 


3ij do. 


do. 


Stimulant (added to 
copaiba mixt.). 


" cantharidis 


5ss do. 


gtt. XX 


Stimulant, to be diluted 
largely. 


" capsici 


do. do. 


f*i 


do. do. 


" cinnamomi 


5iss do. 


fSss 


Carmin., adjuvant. 


" cardamomi 


3"ij do. 
| cinnamon 


i'5i 


do. do. 


" cinnamomi comp. 


■; cardamom 
( ginger 


f5ss 


do. do. 










f cardamom 








1 cinnamon 






" cardamomi comp. 


■I caraway 
1 raisins 
[cochineal 


f^ss 


do. do. 



Group 4. — Of varying proportions. Cathartics with modified properties. 
Chiefly compound. Doses generally, f5ss. 



Officinal Name. 


Proportions. 


Dose. 


Med. Properties, etc. 


Tinct 
<< 


. hellebori 
jalapaj 

rhei 
" et aloes 


jij toOj 
giij to Oj 

f^iss do. 

1 with cardam. ^ij 

f rhubarb 

•! aloes 

( cardam. 


m 

do. 
f5ss 

do. 


Emmenagogue, cath. 
Cath., always used in 

combination. 
Tonic, cathartic. 

Mild cathartic. 
(Elixir sacrum.) 


" 


" et gentianoe 


( rhubarb 
( gentian 
( rhubarb 


do. 


Laxative, tonic. 


- 


" et sennae 


1 ssnna 

coriander 
j fennel 
1 saunders 

saffron 
| liquorice 
[raisins 


do. 


Carminative, laxative. 
(Warner's Cordial.) 


•■ 


sennae et jalapae 


f senna 
jalap 
J coriander 
j cardamom 
1 caraway 
[sugar 


do. 


Carminative, laxative. 
(Elixir salutis.) 



SYLLABUS OF TINCTURES. 



115 



JRemarTcs.— The tinctures made with, diluted alcohol, are here 
found to be susceptible of division into four groups, arranged 
chiefly with a view to their medical properties, but generally hav- 
ing other features in common. Thus the majority of the narcotic 
tinctures (Group 1) are given in the dose of from 20 to 60 drops, 
and they are all made in the proportion of two ounces of the drug 
to one pint of the menstruum. The six first named in the table 
form a very natural group ; the remaining four have fewer points 
of resemblance, and several cannot be classed with narcotics with- 
out doing some violence to their true position. The tincture of 
digitalis is not only peculiar in its therapeutical action, but forms 
an exception in the dose. 

The tonic and astringent preparations are appropriately asso- 
ciated in one group, though differing among themselves. Tincture 
of quassia is sui generis in containing no astringent principle. The 
dose of these will be observed to be much larger, ranging from two 
fluidrachms to half a fluidounce. 

The third group has less points of resemblance among its mem- 
bers than either of the others. The last four of this group are, 
however, all used for the same purposes, as adjuvants to other me- 
dicines, in extemporaneous solutions and mixtures. The compound 
tincture of cardamom is a very rich and elegant one for this 
purpose. 

With the exception of tinctures of hellebore and jalap, the fourth 
group is a very natural one ; these are what are called stomachics, 
and are much used in debilitated states of the stomach and bowels, 
following protracted illness. They should be used with caution, 
for fear of inducing intemperate habits. 

The doses named in the tables may be considered as average 
adult doses ; it is impossible to state their variations in a table. 1 



Class II. — Made with Officinal Alcohol, sp. gr. .835. 
Group 1. — Saturated tinctures, or nearly so. 



Officinal Name. 



Proportions. 



Dose. 



Properties. 



Tinctura aconiti radicis 
" nucis vomicae 
" zingiberis 



% vj to Oj gtt. v to x 
Jiv do. do. v to xt 
do. do. fsjj 



Nervous, sedative. 

do. stimulant. 
Carminative. 



See unofficinal tinctures. 



116 



TINCTURES. 



Group 2. — Resinous tincture 



Tinctura myrrhge 


3 ij to Oiss 


raj 


Astringent, em- 
menagogue. 




f aloes 5iss 




Laxative, do. 


" aloes et myrrhse 


< saffron §sa 


fS 


(Elixir proprieta- 




( tr. myrrhge Oj 




tis.) 


" guaiaci 


5iij toOj 


fffU 


Alterative, dia- 
phoretic. 


" assafoetidse 


.?»j do. 


m 


Antispasmodic. 


" castorei 


|j do. 


fSss 


do. 


" lupulinae 


|ij do. 


ftf 


Tonic, narcotic. 


" tolutani 


3iss do. 


f3ss 


Stimulant, expec- 
torant. 


" benzoini comp. 


f benzoin 
J storax 
| bale, tolu 

[ aloes 


do. 


do. do. 
(See Turlington's 
balsam.) 



Group 3. — Simple solutions in alcohol. 



Tinct 


camphors 


3ii to Oj 


gtt. XX 


Stimulant. 


" 


ol. menth. pip. 


fgij to do. 


do. 


Carminative. 




do. Bativse 


do. do. 


<j;tt. xxx 


do. 


" 


iodinii 


gj to do. 


gtt. XV 


Alterative. 


" 


" comp. 


j iodine sss 

{ iodide potass. 3j 

f soap 


do. 


do. 
Used externally. 




saponis camphorata 


\ camphor 
( oil rosemary 




(Liquid opodel- 
doc.) 



/.' "tries. — It will be observed that tinctures of this class are 
generally given in smaller doses than those of the first class. 

They are as a class more active preparations. 

The first group in this series, except tincture of ginger, are diffi- 
cult tinctures to prepare properly. It is best to macerate the sub- 
stance in the alcohol, previously to the employment of the displace- 
ment process, and the frequent repassing of the liquid through the 
powder to insure its saturation. I have found advantage in these 
cases, from employing the heat of a sand-bath during the macera- 
tion, and then displacing with great care to extract the whole of 
the active virtues. 

This class, especially the 2d group, and tinctures of camphor and 
iodine of 3d group, are all incompatible with aqueous liquids, 
which, by rendering the basis insoluble, precipitate it. Notwith- 
standing this apparent disadvantage, these tinctures are sometimes 
added to mixtures containing a large proportion of water, and 
answer a very good purpose, especially where sugar or gum are 
added as ingredients. Some of the resinous tinctures are much 
given on sugar, which being allowed to dissolve slowly in the 
mouth, is well calculated to develop their taste and odor. 



TINCTURES. 117 

The tinctures of essential oils, of which, those of peppermint and 
spearmint are officinal, are commonly known as essences; but most 
of the essences sold are much below the officinal standard, as might 
be inferred from their price. (For a further account of this class of 
tinctures, see chapter on Distillation) 

Tinctures ' of tolu and ginger are used in the preparation of the 
officinal tolu and ginger syrups. The latter is extensively known as 
essence of ginger, and is one of the most popular of carminatives. 1 



Class III. — Made with Aromatic Spirit of Ammonia. 

AMMONIATED TINCTURES. 

Tinct. guaiaci ammoniafca £iv to Oiss Stimulating diaphoretic, Dose, fgj. 

" Valerianae " ^ij to Oj Antispasmodic, do. 

Aromatic spirits of ammonia, itself an admirable stimulant and 
antacid, and extensively used as a remedy for sick-headache, is used 
as a menstruum in this class of tinctures ; it has the advantage, from 
the quantity of volatile alkali it contains, of increasing the solubility 
of resinous bodies, and also adding to their stimulating effects and 
comparative medicinal efficiency in certain cases. 



Tinctures not Officinal in U. S., P. 

Under this head only a few of the more important will be intro- 
duced. The reader is referred to Medical Formularies for such as 
are not selected for insertion here. 

Tinctura Ginchonce et Quassiaz Gomposita. — Tonic Tincture. 

Take of Cinchona, in coarse powder, 
Quassia, " 

Colombo, " 

Gentian, " 

Serpentaria, " 

Chamomile, of each .... Iss. 
French brandy Oij. 

Macerate 14 days, and extract by displacement. A very valuable 
combination of bitters, which, by the absence of the disagreeable 

1 1 do not see the propriety of the use of strong alcohol in all the tinctures of this 
class ; in several of those of the 2d group, diluted alcohol would seem to he the pro- 
per menstruum. In myrrh, there are 44 parts of gum to 40 of resin, and 2 of essen- 
tial oil, so that one would suppose the proportion of diluted alcohol would be exactly 
suited to its solution. 

Experiment proves that in assafoetida there are about 65 parts of resin and 31 of 
gum, which would seem to indicate the use of about 2 parts of alcohol to 1 of water. 



118 TINCTURES. 

resinous coloring matter of saunders, and by the employment of an 
acceptable form of alcohol as the menstruum, is adapted to super- 
sede Huxham's tincture of bark. Dose, f 5j to f sss. 

Bitter Tincture of Iron. (Dr. Physick.) 

Take of Iron filings Siij. 

Bruised ginger, 

" gentian, of each . . . sj. 

" orange-peel .... sss. 
Infuse in one pint of old cider for two weeks, in a bottle without 
a stopper, and filter. Dose, 30 drops, three times a day. 

Although not an elegant preparation, this is an efficient and 
popular chalybeate tonic. 

Tinctura Cinchonce Ferrata. 

On account of the large number of cases in which the tonic 
effects of cinchona and aromatics are indicated with ferruginous 
preparations, it is desirable to contrive a method of combining 
these without producing the inky and grumous appearance result- 
ing from the diffusion of tannate of iron in the preparation. A 
tincture, with the above title, was announced some time since by 
Samuel Simes, of this city, as combining the advantages of cinchona 
and iron. A specimen of this being examined by Alfred B. Taylor, 
was pronounced to contain less than half a grain of the iron salt to 
an ounce; this occasioned the publication of a recipe by S. Simes, 
directing the precipitation of the cincho-tannin, from the tinc- 
ture made with brandy, by an excess of hydrated sesquioxide of 
iron; after filtration, and washing the precipitate with alcohol to 
recover any alkaloid which might otherwise be lost, 16 grains of 
ammonio-citrate of iron were directed to be dissolved in each fluid- 
ounce, and, according to the statement, would produce no precipita- 
tion of the inky tannate. 

Experiments carefully performed by myself and others, show that 
this result is not attainable, except by the presence of a considerable 
excess of citric acid, which will very much diminish the tendency of 
the tincture to blacken on the addition of the iron salt, even with- 
out the previous treatment prescribed in the recipe of Simes. This 
preparation, then, is conveniently prepared extemporaneously by 
the proper admixture of compound tincture of cinchona, or pre- 
ferabty tinctura cinchonas et quassias composita, with citrate of 
iron, and an excess of citric acid (gr. iv to f s"j). (See Extemporane- 
ous Prescriptions) 

Tinctura Jlatico. (Dublin Ph.) 

Take of Matico leaves, in coarse powder, 8 ounces (avoirdupois). 
Proof spirit ... 2 pints (imp'l measure). 

Macerate 14 days, strain, express, and filter. 



UNOFFICINAL TINCTUKES. 119 

Dose, from f5j to f5iij- Used as an alterative stimulant and 
haemostatic. 

The solution of the alkaloids in alcohol constitutes a class of 
tinctures which are convenient and very readily prepared, though 
none of them are officinal in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. 

Tinctura Quinioz Composiia. (Dublin Ph.) 

Take of Sulphate of quinia . . 3v, 9j. 

Tincture of orange-peel . Oij (imperial measure). 
Digest for 7 days, or till dissolved. 
Dose, f5j, containing a grain of the quinia salt. 

The tincture of orange-peel, which is not officinal here, may be 
substituted by tinct. gentianse comp., U. S. 

Tinctura Strychnia. 

Take of Strychnia gr. iij. 

^ Alcohol flj. 

Make a tincture. 
Dose, i"iv to xvj. 

This is perhaps about the strength of tincture of nux vomica (as 
shown below), for which it is sometimes substituted. 

Name. Proportions. Dose. 

Tinctura nucis vomicae, U. S., ^iv to Oj ale, 5 to 15 drops. 

" strychnine, gr. iij to f ^j, 16 drops = T \j- grain. 

Tinctura Cannabis Indices. (Dublin Ph.) 

*Take of Purified extract of Indian hemp . . §ss. 

Alcohol (Oss, imperial measure) . . f^ixss. 
Dissolve the extract in the alcohol. 
Dose, as a narcotic about 40 drops. 

F lemming's Tincture of Aconite. 

Take of Aconite root (dried and finely powdered) Ixvi (Troy). 
Eectified spirits .... Sufficient. 

Macerate for four days with sixteen ounces of the spirits, then 
pack into a percolator, add more until twenty-four ounces of tinc- 
ture are obtained. 

This is the strongest of the tinctures of aconite, and is compared 
with the others in the following syllabus. 

Name. Proportions. Dose. 

Tinctura aconiti foliorum, U. S., §ij leaves to Oj dil. ale, 20 to 30 drops. 

" " radicis, U. S., gvj root to Oj alcohol, 5 drops. 

" " (Flemming's), § viij root to f^xij do., 3 to 5 drops. 

1 See Extracta. 



120 MEDICATED WINES AND VINEGARS. 

There is not so great a difference between the last two as their 
relative proportions would indicate, both being nearly saturated. 
Great care should be taken to distinguish these by their full name 
in prescribing. 



Dewees's Tincture of Guaiac. 

Take of Guaiacum resin 

Carbonate of potassa 
Pulv. pimento 
Diluted alcohol 
Digest for two weeks. Dose, from f 5j to f5\j 

Tinctura Rhei Aromaticus. 



giv. 

3iss. 

Oij. 



Take of Ehubarb, 
Caraway, 
Orange-peel, of each .... lij. 

Brandy ...... Oij. 

Macerate for two weeks or displace. Dose, f5j to f|ss. 



CHAPTER VI. 

MEDICATED WINES AND VINEGARS. 

These two classes of Galenical solutions are less numerous, and 
generally less important, than the tinctures, to which they are 
closely allied. 



Vina Medicata, U. S. P. 

There are two kinds of wine officinal in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia: 
vinurn album (vinum of the older Pharmacopoeias), which is sherry 
wine (Teneriffe and Madeira are sometimes used in its stead), and 
vinum rubrum, which is port wine. The former contains near 20 
per cent, of alcohol, sp. gr. .825, and the latter near 26 per cent. 

In all the medicated wines which are officinal, white wine is 
directed as the menstruum. This is a clear, amber colored liquid, 
having an agreeable pungent taste, and destitute of acidity. It 
possesses the advantage over either alcohol or diluted alcohol, of 
being less stimulating, and more agreeable in its taste and in its 
effects on the system. It is chiefly objectionable as a substitute 



AROMATIC WINE. 



121 



for diluted alcohol, from its liability to decompose when impreg- 
nated with the soluble principles of plants. To meet this objec- 
tion, it is customary with some to add from one to two fluidounces 
of alcohol to a pint of the wine, and this course is directed in the 
Pharmacopoeia in the case of vinum rhei. 



SYLLABUS OP OFFICINAL MEDICATED WINES. 

White or Sherry Wine, used in making them. 



Officinal Name. 


Proportions. 


Dose. 


Med. Properties. 


Vinum aloes 


gj + cardamom, ) Q . 
ginger, aa gj J J 


m to fgij 


Carminative, 
aperient. 


" rhei 


SU + canella gj \ , 
dU.alo.fgij J cl0. 


fcj to fgss 


do. 


" colchici rad. 


gvj do. 


gtt. s to fgj 


Diuretic, 
nerv. sedat. 


" " seminis 


3»j do. 


•Xi to fgij 


do. 


" ergotse 


.?ij do. 


foj 


Excito-motor 
stim. 


" ipecacuanhae 


Ij do. 


fgj to fgss 


Expectorant. 


" tabaci 


ij do. 


gtt. XX. 


Diuretic. 


" veratri albi 


giv do. 






" antimonii 


2 grs. tart. emet. to f^j jfgj to f^ss 


Expect., emet. 



"Wine of ipecac is an elegant and very popular preparation, being 
much used by itself, and along with other expectorant and diapho- 
retic remedies ; it is not as depressing in its effects as wine of anti- 
mony, and yet about equally efficacious as an emetic and nauseant. 
It has just double the strength of the syrup of ipecac. 

Wine of ergot is perhaps more used than any other preparation 
of that drug ; it has no other fault than its proneness to decompose 
in hot weather, which makes it necessary to add a little strong 
alcohol, or to keep it in a cool place, and in well-stopped bottles. 



Wines not Officinal in XI. S. P. 
Aromatic Wine. 

Take of Wormwood, 
Peppermint, 
Eosemary, 
Thyme, 
Hyssop, 
Sage, 
Lavender, 
Sweet marjoram, of each 

Port wine 

Macerate 7 days and displace. 



3ij. 
Oij. 



122 MEDICATED WINES AND VINEGARS. 

The principal use of aromatic wine is as an astringent and stimu- 
lating wash, applied particularly to buboes. 

Wine of Tar — Tar Beer — Jews' .Beer. 

A formula for this preparation was published in the 14th volume 
of the American Journal of Pharmacy (p. 281), by the late Augus- 
tine Duhamel, in which a quart of bran, a pint of tar, half a pint of 
honey, and three quarts of water, are mixed together in an earthen 
pipkin, allowed to simmer over a slow fire for three hours, then 
suffered to cool, half a pint of yeast added, and after it has stood 
thirt} 7 -six hours, strained for use. 

If these directions are followed to the letter, the product is 
exceedingly unsatisfactory, will not keep well, and is impregnated 
with but a small amount of the medical virtues of the tar. The 
addition of the tar at the first part of the process is the chief ob- 
jection to this formula, as by its antiseptic properties it checks the 
fermentation, and thus diminishes the production of alcohol, and 
consequently the amount of tar dissolved. 

The office of the bran is to disintegrate the tar so that the water 
may act on a largely exposed surface. Ground malt answers this 
mechanical purpose equally well, and as it is acted on by ferment 
when placed in water, this is an additional reason why it should be 
preferred to the bran. When, therefore, malt is substituted for 
bran, and the mixture of malt, honey, water, and yeast, is suffered 
to react for thirty-six hours before adding the tar, so much alcohol 
is generated, that it enables the fluid to dissolve a much larger pro- 
portion of that substance, and to keep perfectly well. The follow- 
ing is the formula proposed by Professor Procter: — 

Take of Ground malt, honey, and tar, of each one pound; 
Yeast, half a pint ; 
"Water, a sufficient quantity. 

Mix the malt, honey, and three quarts of the water in an earthen 
vessel, keep them at the temperature of 150° F. (about), with occa- 
sional stirring for three hours, then suffer the whole to cool to 
about 80° F. and add the yeast. 

Fermentation soon sets in, and should be promoted by maintain- 
ing the temperature between 70° and 80° F. during thirty-six 
hours. The supernatant fluid should then be decanted from the 
dregs of the malt, and the tar added gradually to these in a small 
stream, stirring constantly so as to distribute it uniformly among 
them, and prevent its conglomerating in masses. The decanted 
fluid is then returned to the vessel, and the whole well stirred up 
from time to time for several days or a week, observing to add 
water occasionally to keep the original measure. The whole is 
then thrown on a piece of Canton flannel or other close strainer, 
the fluid allowed to pass, and the dregs expressed strongly to re- 
move as much as possible of the fluid inclosed. The expressed 



ACETA. 123 

liquid is then filtered for use : there is an advantage in allowing it 
to stand, until it gets nearly clear by subsidence, before filtering it. 
When first made, before filtering, wine of tar has but little color, 
but soon acquires a reddish-brown hue by exposure. It smells 
and tastes strongly of tar, is slightly acid, is not unpleasant to most 
persons, and, when prepared as above, is undoubtedly a valuable 
auxiliary to the physician in pulmonary diseases. 

The dose of wine of tar is a tablespoonful. 

Brandy (distilled wine) is occasionally used as a menstruum 
instead of diluted alcohol, which it resembles in strength. It is a 
pleasanter spirit in its effect, though too expensive and too much 
adulterated to be generally substituted. A tincture is much pre- 
scribed as a fine tonic under the name Tinct. cinchonas et quassias 
comp., introduced in the last chapter ; it is made with brandy. 



Aceta, U. S. P. 

In the list of the Pharmacopoeia, Acetum, vinegar, is described 
as impure diluted acetic acid, prepared by fermentation. One 
fluidounce of it is said to be saturated by about 35 grains of crys- 
tallized bicarbonate of potassa. From this is prepared — 

Acetum destillatum, officinal among the preparations, prepared 
by distilling vinegar, rejecting from each gallon the last pint, which 
contains the impurities. This liquid, which is nearly pure weak 
acetic acid, is about the same strength as the crude vinegar from 
which it is obtained, and possesses the same saturating power. 

Distilled vinegar was directed in the Pharmacopoeia of 1840, as 
the menstruum for the preparation of the officinal aceta, but in the 
last edition, it has been substituted by acidum aceticum dilutum. 

The chief reason for this change has been that the latter liquid 
is cheaper and much more easily obtained. The immense produc- 
tion of acetic acid for use in the arts as well as in medicine, has 
reduced its price to a much lower point than formerly. The small 
bulk of the strong acid recommends it for transportation, and it 
may be readily and immediately diluted to the point desired. It 
is free from organic impurities, while the ordinary product of the 
distillation of vinegar is not, as shown by the fact that, while the 
latter is apt to turn brown on the addition of an alkali, the former 
remains clear and colorless. 

The chief impurities likely to be present in acetic acid of com- 
merce, are sulphuric, nitric, and muriatic acids, and traces of ace- 
tates of lead and copper. 

Sulphuric acid is detected by the addition to a quite dilute solu- 
tion of a small portion of a solution of chloride of barium, or 
nitrate of baryta, which will form a white precipitate of sulphate of 
baryta, if sulphuric acid be present. Muriatic acid, by the addition 
to another portion of a very dilute solution of nitrate of silver, will 
throw down white chloride of silver. Nitric acid is known to be pre- 



124 OF MEDICATED WINES AND VINEGARS. 

sent when, upon the addition of a small piece of metallic silver, a 
portion of the latter is dissolved, and may be precipitated as a white 
chloride upon adding a drop of muriatic acid. Acetate of lead, if 
present, may be detected by adding to a small quantity of the 
diluted acid, saturated with ammonia, a solution of iodide of potas- 
sium, which will give the bright yellow iodide of lead; it being 
insoluble, will separate as a precipitate. Acetate of copper, if sus- 
pected, may be proved to be present when a precipitate falls after 
the addition of a solution of ferrocyanide of potassium to a portion 
of the dilute acid, saturated with ammonia. 

Acetic acid of commerce, sometimes designated as "No. 8," has, 
or should have, the sp. gr. of 1.041. The best method, however, of 
ascertaining its strength, is to saturate a given portion of it with 
bicarbonate of potassa in crystals: if of standard strength, 100 
grains by w r eight of the acid will be accurately saturated by 60 
grains of the crystals. The point of saturation is ascertained by 
the use of litmus paper, which should not change to a decided red 
color on immersing it in the liquid, after the addition of the bi- 
carbonate. This experiment requires care, in order to secure a 
satisfactory result; if it should be found that the solution is de- 
cidedly acid, when tried b}^ the test-paper, a further addition of 
bicarbonate should be made, noting the quantity. If considerably 
more than 60 grains are required to make it neutral, it is too strong, 
and generally the presence of some foreign acid ma}' be suspected. 
If the proportion of bicarbonate is more than sufficient to make 
the solution neutral, the acid is then deficient in strength. Owing 
to the delicacy of the test by litmus paper, a specimen of acetic 
acid will seldom be found which will be accurately saturated by the 
required quantit} 7 of this or any other salt, and in estimating the 
value of the sample, the experimenter must be satisfied if the result 
is approximately correct, especially as carbonic acid, being liberated 
by the bicarbonate, is present in the solution, and is liable to in- 
fluence slightly the behavior of the test-paper. Practically, no 
material disadvantage results, in the preparation of medicated vine- 
gars, if the acetic acid happens to vary somewhat from the standard 
strength, provided it be free from foreign substances. 

Acidum Aceticum Dilutum. — This liquid is made by adding to 
one part of acetic acid seven parts of water (making eight parts), 
so that the proportions may be stated as one j)art of strong acid in 
every eight parts of diluted. As 60 grains of bicarbonate of po- 
tassa saturate 100 grains of the strong acid, 7J grains (one-eighth 
of sixty) will saturate the same quantity of the diluted acid ; or, 
observing very nearly the same proportion, 35 grains will saturate 
one fluidounce. 

The use of diluted acetic acid as a menstruum is confined by the 
U. 8. Pharmacopoeia to colchicum, squills, and opium. In the pre- 
paration of emplastruin ammoniaci, it is employed to dissolve the 



ETHEREAL TINCTURES. 



125 



gum, and afterwards evaporated so as to leave it in a pure and 
softened condition suitable for spreading on kid. (See Emjohslra.) 

In the case of colchicum, it is used with a view to furnish the 
active principle colchicia in the form of acetate ; it is milder in its 
action than the wine, and is suitable for combining with magnesia 
and sulphate of magnesia. 

It forms an admirable menstruum for squill, its acid taste recom- 
mending it over both water and alcohol, and its medical action 
promoting that of squill in most cases to which that medicine is 
adapted. 

In the case of opium, the object in employing this acid is to assist 
in dissolving and extracting the morphia, with which it combines, 
furnishing a soluble salt, and one which is considered more agree- 
able in its action than the meconate as it exists in the drug. 

The antiseptic properties of diluted acetic acid are inferior to 
those of diluted alcohol, and on that account these preparations are 
more liable to change than the tinctures. A small addition of 
alcohol is sometimes made, to obviate this. I have never known 
either of the officinal " aceta" to ferment by keeping. A syllabus 
of this class is appended. 





ACETA 


, U. S. P. 




Officinal Name. 


Proportions. 


Dose. 


Med. Properties, &c. 


Acetum colchici 
" scillse 
" opii 


^i to Oj : Ale. f^ss 

Sij to Oj 

§viii to Oiij f Jiv 


gtt. xxx to fgij 

do. 
gtt. v to X. 


Diuretic, sedative. 

do. do. 
See preparations of opium. 



Unofficinal Ethereal Tinctures. 

The use of ether as a menstruum in tinctures is objectionable, 
owing to the great variations in strength to which these are liable 
from the rapid evaporation of the ether, even at ordinary tempera- 
tures, and in the transfer of the liquid from the bottles. 

Several preparations, used by Dr. Mettauer, of Virginia, contain- 
ing less volatile ethereal liquids, as spt. setheris nitrici, and spt. 
astheris compositus, have been made public, from which the folio w- 
are selected: — 

Mettauer } s Ethereal Tincture of Gantharides. 

B. Cantharid. Siij. 

Spt. Eether. nit. Oiiss. 

Macerate for eight days, and filter. 

The ethereous menstruum seems to promote the tendency of the 
flies to the genito-urinary organs without producing strangury. 



126 GALENICAL PREPARATIONS OF OPIUM. 

It is also used as a blister for the scalp of infants. Dr. M. also uses 
spirit of nitric ether as a menstruum for colchicum, guaiac, squill, 
ergot, ipecac, &c. 

Mettauer's Ethereal Tincture of Cubebs. 

R. Cubebas pulv liv. 

Spt. setheris nit. ...... Oij. 

Macerate for eight days, and filter. 

Used for subacute inflammation of the bladder, urethra, &c, and 
of the mucous lining of the stomach and bowels. (See Virginia 
Med. and Surgical Journal, Nov. 1853.) 

Asiatic Tincture for Cholera. 

This is a most valuable application of the Ethereal Liquor of 
Hoffman, the diffusible character of which is admirably adapted to 
heighten the effect of the powerful stimulants prescribed. It has 
attained considerable celebrity within several years past. 

Take of Opium SJ. 

Camphor 5j. 

Oil of cloves f.sj. 

Capsicum SJ. 

Hoffman's anodyne Oj. 

Macerate 10 to 20 days, or prepare by displacement. 

Adult dose, 20 to 60 drops every second, third, or fourth hour, 
according to circumstances, in a little sweetened water. 



CHAPTER VII. 



GALENICAL PREPARATIONS OF OPIUM. 

These preparations assume an importance to the student not 
belonging to others, from the extensive use made of opium in 
almost every form of disease, and from the unusual number and 
variety of Galenical solutions made from it. 

No student should neglect to study these especially and care- 
fully, so as to be familiar with their relative degrees of activity, 
and their effects as modified by the menstrua employed. On this 
account I have devoted a separate chapter to their consideration. 

The following syllabus embraces the officinal Galenical solutions 
of opium, and also the solution of sulphate of morphia. 



TINCTUKES OF OPIUM. 



127 



Tinct. opii camphorata, 
(Paregoric), 



Tinct. opii (Laudanum), 
Tinct. opii acetata, 



Vinum opii, 

(Sydenham's Laud.), 

Acetum opii, 

(Black Drop), 



Liquor morphine sulphatis. 



Composition and Relative Strength 
Opium £ss 
Camphor 9j 
Benzoic acid gss 
Oil of aniseed f 5 
Honey ,?j j 

Opium %], gij to Oj = 1 gr. in 13 ti^ 



Opium §j 
Alcohol f^iv 
Vinegar f'^vi 
Opium gij 
Cinnamon, 
Cloves, aa 3J 
Opium ^viij 
Nutmeg ^iss 
Saffron § ss 
Sugar gxij 
, $ gr. morphia 



] 1 gr. in 256 rr\, f^j to fgt 
to Oj dil. ale. 



gtt. xxv. 
gtt. xx. 



1 gr. in 10 TTL 

1 gr. in 8 n\, 

• to sherry, Oj. 

1 gr. in 6£ WL 
to Oiij f§iv when fin'd. 



gtt. 



gtt. v to X. 



1 gr. opium to f^j f&j. 



The mode of preparation and uses of each of these will require 
separate mention. 

All the preparations of opium are directed to be made from the 
powdered drug ; this is designed to prevent variations in strength, 
resulting from the different degrees of dryness of different speci- 
mens, as found in commerce. In most instances, however, the 
apothecary or physician prefers to select the drug in its crude con- 
dition, and in the absence of conveniences for drying and powder- 
ing it in large quantities, uses it in lump. I shall, therefore, 
describe the processes with reference to both the powdered and the 
crude opium, premising that the manipulator should always make 
the preparation with the Pharmacopoeia before him, in this as in 
all other cases. 



Camphorated tincture of opium is made by dropping the opium 
as finely divided as its condition will admit of, the benzoic acid, 
camphor, and oil of aniseed, into a suitable bottle, and pouring the 
diluted alcohol upon them ; after standing for two weeks, with 
occasional agitation, the tincture is filtered and the honey is added 
to complete it. The chief use of paregoric is for children, to whom 
it is given in doses varying according to the age of the child from 
ten drops to a teaspoonful. The adult dose is as stated in the 
table. It is used in mistura glycyrrhizEe comp., and in other ex- 
pectorant medicines. 

This tincture, in the Pharmacopoeia of 1830, was directed to be 
made with a portion of extract of liquorice, which, as it gave it a 
dark color, resembling that of laudanum, was substituted in the two 
last editions by honey. It has a rich brown color, and a rather 
" le aromatic taste. 



Tincture of opium .is directed to be made by macerating pow- 
dered opium in diluted alcohol for fourteen days, expressing and 



128 GALENICAL PREPARATIONS OF OPIUM. 

filtering through paper. If the drug in powder is not at hand, the 
following formula may be used : Take of opium, sliced, one ounce 
and two drachms, add to it two fluidounces of water, and by the 
aid of a pestle and mortar, work it into a uniform pasty mass; 
to this add six fluidounces of water, and eight fluidounces of alco- 
hol, making in all one pint of diluted alcohol; allow it to macerate 
for two weeks, occasionally shaking it, and throw the whole upon 
a filter — to the pulp, remaining after the liquid has drained off, add 
about two fluidounces of water, which will displace the last por- 
tion so as to make the whole of the tincture measure exactly the 
pint. 

Laudanum is more used than any other preparation of opium. 
It is employed internally in small doses, combined with stimulants, 
and frequently repeated to excite the nervous and arterial systems, 
as in the typhoid forms of disease. (See Prescriptions) It is also 
used by itself or in combination to allay nervous irritation, and to 
promote sleep and relieve pain ; for these purposes, it generally 
requires to be given in full doses, especially when the case is ur- 
gent. It is sometimes employed in cancerous and other very pain- 
ful diseases, and in mania-a-potu, in doses of half a fluidrachm to 
one fluidrachm (60 to 120 drops), and repeated. Camphor water 
and compound spirit of ether are much used with it in its more 
strictly anodyne and sedative applications. In nervous and spas- 
modic affections, it is given with other antispasmodic medicines, or 
by itself. To expectorant mixtures it is a very frequent addition, 
though the camphorated tincture is generally preferable in this 
instance. Combined with astringents and chalk, it is much used 
in the treatment of diarrhoea, dysentery, and cholera morbus, and 
is a frequent addition to mistura cretse. For its diaphoretic effects, 
the best combinations contain an emetic, as wine of ipecac or of 
antimony, or frequently spirit of nitric ether. It is often added to 
castor oil, to correct griping or excessive purging from its use. 

Laudanum is much used in enemeta, collyria, and in lotions of 
various kinds. In an enema it mo.j be used in three times the 
quantity employed by the mouth, with a view to the same effect. 
In an eye wash, wine of opium, or a solution of the aqueous ex- 
tract, is preferred, as obviating the stimulant effects of the alcohol. 
It is frequently added to cataplasms or poultices. 

Laudanum is made of deficient strength by some druggists, in 
order to sell it cheap ; the usual wholesale price for a good article 
is from sixty-two to seventy-five cents per pint, or by retail, twelve 
to eighteen cents an ounce. If it has become turbid from the 
evaporation of a portion of alcohol, it is above standard strength, 
and should be filtered to free it from the precipitate. 

Acetated tincture of opium is not commonly designated by any 
synonym, and must be carefully distinguished from black drop, to 
be noticed presently. It may be prepared by macerating the opium 



VINEGAR OF OPIUM. 129 

in powder with the vinegar and alcohol for two weeks. If the 
opium is in mass, it may be worked into a paste with a small por- 
tion of the vinegar, after which the remainder of that liquid and 
the alcohol may be added, macerating for two weeks as in the other 
case. 

This tincture is sometimes recommended in preference to lauda- 
num, as less liable to produce those nervous symptoms, which often 
follow the use of opium. As shown in the table, it is stronger than 
laudanum, but much weaker than black drop. 

Wine of Opium. — This officinal substitute for Sydenham's lauda- 
num, may be made by a precisely similar process to the foregoing. 
It is made with a much larger proportion of opium to the quantity 
of menstruum employed, than laudanum, and yet the dose directed 
in the books is the same; this must be owing to the supposed 
inferior solubility of the active principles in wine, than in diluted 
alcohol. A great many extemporaneous prescriptions for collyria 
contain this ingredient. 

Vinegar of Opium, or Black Drop. — The strongest of the pre- 
parations of opium is made by a series of processes, not quite so 
simple as those last detailed. The opium, either in coarse powder 
or worked into a paste as before described, is mixed with saffron 
and grated nutmeg, and digested with a given quantity of diluted 
acetic acid, for 48 hours. This may be conveniently accomplished 
in an ordinary beaker glass, or, if the heat is carefully regulated, 
in a wide-mouth packing bottle or bowl, placed on top of a stove 
in a bed of sand, care being taken to avoid a heat which would boil 
the preparation ; after straining off this first portion of the liquid, 
the residue is again digested, with a fresh portion of the menstruum, 
for 24 hours, and this drained off. In order to displace the portion 
of menstruum which would otherwise remain in the mass, to insure 
the more thorough extraction of its soluble principles, and to obtain 
the liquid clear, the mass is now transferred to a displacement fun- 
nel, and the whole of the liquid passed through it, returning the 
first portion till it passes clear, and continuing the process by the 
addition toward the last of fresh portions of the same menstruum, 
till exactly the required measure is obtained. The clear solution 
is now transferred to the vessel first employed, the sugar added to 
it and dissolved, and finally, should it not make exactly the required 
quantity of the preparation, it is further evaporated to the right 
point. 

Black drop is deservedly esteemed as a most valuable prepara- 
tion. The morphia it contains is in the condition of acetate; which 
is considered by many to be more agreeable in its mode of action, 
than the native meconate existing in the drug. One grain of opium 
being represented by 6| minims, the dose will be only from 5 to 10 
drops, because, although in the case of laudanum, two drops are 



130 GALENICAL PREPARATION'S OF OPIUM. 

frequently required to make a minim, in this case, sugar being 
used instead of alcohol, the drops are larger, and frequently reach 
a minim in bulk. 

The popularity of black drop with persons who use opium ha- 
bitually, is one of the strongest evidences of its superiority over 
laudanum. I was informed by one lady, who is a victim to this 
vice, and who procures her black drop by the gallon, that in com- 
paring her own condition with that of others within the range of 
her acquaintance, who have used laudanum to no greater excess 
than she uses black drop, that while they soon exhibited in their 
persons the evidences of its poisonous effects, she was enabled to 
preserve to a great extent the natural freshness and fulness of her 
features; this she attributed to the form in which she took the drug. 
Her statement cannot of course be received as evidence of the dif- 
ference referred to, though it accords with the testimony of others, 
and also corresponds with the observation of some physicians of 
large experience. 

Solution of sulphate of morphia (U. S.), though its strength is 
usually estimated as stated in the syllabus, is weaker in proportion 
to the other preparations than* is there stated. The dose is fre- 
quently f5ij. Magendie's solution, much used in New York and 
Boston, is made in the proportion of 16 grains to the fluidounce. 
Care should be taken in prescribing and vending this, to distinguish 
between it and the officinal solution. 

Unofficinal Solutions. 

Elixirs of Opium. — There are several preparations vended under 
this name, of which the most popular is McMunn's Elixir. This is 
a weaker preparation than laudanum, the common dose being varied 
from 20 to 40 or even 60 drops ; being an aqueous solution, with 
probably the smallest proportion of a spirituous ingredient that is 
sufficient to preserve it, the drops are large and the quantity named 
approaches f3j. McMunn's Elixir borders on the confines of 
quackery, though much used by regular practitioners. Its compo- 
sition is concealed, although the fact of its being a nearly pure 
aqueous solution of opium seems generally understood. Several 
pharmaceutists have from time to time called attention to the supe- 
riority of water as a menstruum for opium. The late Augustine 
Duhamel was in the habit of making laudanum by digesting the 
opium with water alone, and adding the alcohol after filtering, 
believing that in this way he avoided the extraction of the resinous 
ingredient supposed to occasion the unpleasant after-effects. The 
separation of the narcotine from opium by digestion with ether 
previous to making laudanum from it, was at one time recom- 
mended, but has long since been abandoned. 

Eugene Dupuy, pharmaceutist of New York, published in 1851 



ELIXIRS OF OPIUM. 131 

the following recipe for a substitute for McMunn's Elixir, which, he 
stated had been used for some six years with satisfaction, being 
found to possess the sedative property peculiar to it without any 
of the unpleasant effects attributed to laudanum. The proportion 
of opium is the same as in the officinal tinctura opii. 

Take of Opium 3x. 

Water q. s. 

Alcohol (95 per ct.) .... fsiv. 

The opium is to be made into a thin pulp with water ; the mix- 
ture allowed to stand in a cool place 48 hours, then transferred into 
an elongated glass funnel, containing filtering paper. A superstra- 
tum of water, equivalent to the bulk of the whole mass, is added. 
When the filtered liquid reached flxij, the alcohol is added to the 
filtered liquid, making Oj — about two thirds of the substance of 
the opium is contained in the solution ; the resin, narcotina, &c, 
being chiefly contained in the residue. The dose by minims would 
be the same as that of laudanum. 

Professor Procter's recipe for a similar preparation is as follows. 
It is more difficult of execution and more expensive, but makes a 
fine preparation, and one which has been found to answer a very 
good purpose: — 

Take of Opium, in powder 3x. 

Ether, 

Alcohol, of each fliv. 

Aqua q. s. 

Macerate the opium in half a pint of water for two days, and 
express ; subject the dregs to two successive macerations, using six 
fluidounces of water each time, with expression ; mix and strain the 
liquors, evaporate them to two fluidounces, and agitate the liquid 
with the ether several times during half an hour. Then separate 
the ether by means of a funnel, evaporate the solution of opium to 
dryness, dissolve the extract in half a pint of cold water, pour the 
solution on a filter, and after it has passed, wash the filter with suffi- 
cient water to make the filtrate measure 12 fluidounces, to which 
add the alcohol and mix, making a pint. 

This has the same strength as laudanum. 

By the ether in this process, the odorous principle and resin dis- 
solved to a certain extent by the water are extracted and dissipated ; 
any portions of thebaina, meconin, codeia and meconate of narcotine, 
contained in the aqueous solution, are also removed ; the evaporation 
to dryness and re-solution in water, remove the ethereal odor, and 
separate a portion of acid resin and extractive. 

Incompatibles. — All the preparations of opium are pharmaceuti- 
cally incompatible with the alkalies, and their mono- carbonates 
generally, on account of their precipitating the morphia in an inso- 



132 GALENICAL PREPARATION'S OF OPIUM. 

luble condition from its meconate. With acetate of lead, they give 
a precipitate, chiefly of meconate of lead, the morphia remaining in 
solution as acetate. Astringent infusions and tinctures generally 
throw down tannates or gallates of morphia, which are quite inso- 
luble. Some of the metallic salts may be considered as incompa- 
tible, but in practice there is no difficulty in mixing small quanti- 
ties of laudanum with diluted solutions of these. In fact, the chief 
point to be observed, in the mixing of these preparations in pre- 
scription, is to add them after the full degree of dilution is ob- 
tained; in this manner they may be mixed without disturbance, in 
the great majority of instances, especially where, as is mostly the 
case, the quantity added is small. 

Treatment of Poisoning by Opium. — When opium is taken in 
quantities sufficient to produce death, the first and invariable 
remedy is to evacuate the stomach, by administering an active 
emetic dose, as, for instance, five grains of tartar emetic or sulphate 
of zinc, or, as is frequently more convenient and equally efficacious, 
large doses of mustard suspended in warm water. The patient 
should also be kept in motion, if possible, the face and head being 
splashed with cold water, when a disposition to sleep seems to be 
gaining the mastery ; in this way, patients may very frequently be 
restored, even after taking large doses of laudanum. Instances of 
the kind have been of frequent occurrence within the last few 
years in this city. 

Two cases have come under my own notice, in which the gal- 
vanic battery has been employed as a last resort, with the effect of 
restoring one patient permanently, and the other temporarily, the 
reaction not being sufficient in the latter instance to establish con- 
valescence, though life was prolonged for several weeks. Artificial 
respiration has occasionally been resorted to, when the prostrating 
influence of the poison had arrested the natural process, life being 
prolonged by this means, until the impression of the narcotic had 
passed off: recovery has been effected in this way. 

The Abuse of Opium. — The habitual use of the preparations of 
opium as a means of intoxication, is an evil, the extent of which is 
scarcely appreciated by the profession, or by the community at 
large. There are shops in the outskirts of our large cities in which 
the sale of laudanum forms one of the principal items of business. 
These peddle it out to every poor victim, who can produce a few 
pennies to purchase a temporary relief from imaginary pains. So 
common is this article of trade, that even little children are fur- 
nished with it, on application, as if it were the most harmless drug. 
It is sold in these shops at half the price maintained by respectable 
establishments, and there can be no doubt that its intoxicating 
effects are sought by many, who use it as a substitute for alcoholic 
drinks. Individuals who would shrink from the habitual use of 
spirituous liquors, employ this medicine, under a false persuasion 



THE ABUSE OF OPIUM. 133 

that it is useful or necessary to allay some symptom of a chronic 
disease, until they become victims to one of the worst of habits. 
There is scarcely an apothecary in our large cities who cannot 
relate instances of opium intoxication that have come under his 
own notice, and been served at his own counter. Females afflicted 
with chronic disease; widows bereft of their earthly support; ine- 
briates who have abandoned the bottle; lovers disappointed in 
their hopes; flee to this powerful drug, either in its crude form, in 
the form of tincture, or some of its salts, to relieve their pain of 
body or mind, or to take the place of another repudiated stimulant. 
Such, too, is the morbid taste of these, that they think they require 
the soporific influence of opium to fill up the measure of their life 
enjoyment, just as the drunkard is wedded to his cups, or the 
tobacco-user to the weed. 

The prevalence of this kind of indulgence is liable to increase in 
proportion as legal restrictions are placed upon the sale of alcoholic 
stimulants. By the so called liquor laws, the sale of spirituous 
liquors is also thrown into the hands of the druggist and apothe- 
cary ; with him rests in great measure the necessary discrimination 
as to the sale of these powerful agents ; he must endeavor to draw 
the line between the purchaser who seeks them for an undue in- 
dulgence in their intoxicating effects, and one who will apply them 
to legitimate uses in disease. That this is a difficult duty cannot 
be denied, and its observance implies the exercise of great care and 
tact, as well as of moral courage. 

Who would sell an ounce of laudanum to an applicant whose 
intention to commit suicide was apparent? And yet how often is 
it sold to individuals, who are only protracting their suicide by 
the demoralizing and dissipating habit of taking it in smaller and 
gradually increasing quantities ? 

The responsibility for many cases of habitual intoxication, both 
with alcohol and opium, rests with the physician. Almost every 
apothecary of large experience has met with instances in which the 
parties attribute their habit to the use of these agents, for the first 
time, under the advice of a physician, by whose direction it has 
been persisted in, in some chronic case, till it has become almost 
impossible to desist from the indulgence. 

A habit among laudanum-takers, which evinces the care with 
which the practice is concealed from the apothecary, has fallen 
under my notice. A small well-washed vial is presented at the 
counter, and laudanum demanded; it is furnished, and labelled by 
the seller. The buyer consumes it all in a few hours, or days at 
most; he removes the label, cleanses the vial again, and presents it 
at another store, with the same request ; and after it is used, he 
goes to a third, and so on perhaps to a dozen stores, till he comes 
to the first, again, in a few weeks after his original presentation ; he 
may not be recognized at either place till months, or even years 
have rolled away, and his shrivelling skin, lemon-colored complex- 
ion, contracted pupil, and tremulous limbs mark him as a con- 



134 GALENICAL PREPARATIONS OF OPIUM. 

firmed victim of this dangerous habit. The apothecary having 
found out his customer, remonstrates, but conscious of the fact that 
he will buy somewhere, and that acute pain and misery will be the 
consequence of abstinence, feels perhaps that it is justifiable, under 
the circumstances, to sell; and thus the days and weeks go on, till 
the habit and its victim alike disappear. 

The quantity of laudanum that may be taken varies with differ- 
ent individuals. Those habituated to it consume from a few tea- 
spoonfuls to an ounce or more per day. A medical friend informed 
me that a child less than two years old came under his observa- 
tion, to whom was administered a dessertspoonful of laudanum per 
diem, to keep it quiet, while the mother was engaged at her daily 
toil ; this, of course, was the result of previous habit, originating in 
a small beginning. 

Persons who have been addicted to the use of ardent spirits, are, 
perhaps, more apt to use laudanum in preference to the crude drug, 
or any of the salts of morphia. The cheapness of the tincture over 
the salts is a strong reason with others. We know of a lady whose 
bill for sulphate of morphia during a single year, was ninety dol- 
lars, which, if we estimate it at the usual price, and take the daily 
average of the quantity consumed, would exhibit the enormous 
consumption of over 20 grains a day. And yet the victim of this 
slavery is able to attend, in some measure, to her daily pursuits, 
and has already attained middle age, without any evidence of 
organic disease. 

Another lady, suffering from a uterine complaint, who had been 
for years in the habit of using opium, at first by the advice of a 
physician, and subsequently from an impression of its value to 
her, continued it in gradually increasing doses, till the daily con- 
sumption of the gum and the tincture, taken alternately, amounted 
to many grains of the former, and half an ounce of the latter. In 
this case the patient was bedridden, and suffered a great deal of 
pain when the system was not directly influenced by the medicine. 

A degree of restlessness and nervous irritability, amounting 
almost to spasm, when not under the effects of the drug, are charac- 
teristic in almost every aggravated case. 

One colored woman, advanced in life, who had been advised, 
many years before, by her physician, to employ laudanum for the 
relief of the painful symptoms of a chronic disease, was known for 
several years to take invariably fsiss of laudanum, which was pur- 
chased daily as required. A lady of my acquaintance, who I 
believe since recovered entirely from the habit, took for years a 
half grain powder of sulphate of morphia daily, sometimes perhaps 
twice a day. On one occasion, a man proposed to purchase at the 
counter a fluidounce vial of laudanum, and when the price of it 
was demanded, immediately swallowed the whole, as was supposed 
for the purpose of suicide. He was afterwards seen in the streets 
apparently in his usual health. 

Dr. Garrod relates a case of a young man who took one drachm 



HEAT FOR PHARMACEUTICAL PURPOSES. 135 

Smyrna opium night and morning, and frequently from an ounce 
to an ounce and a half of laudanum in addition. 

We are informed of an instance of a lady advanced to her three- 
score years and ten, who, from fear of the pains of death, from day 
to day kept herself under the influence of this narcotic. Such was 
the morbid mental influence which kept her unhappy in the anti- 
cipation of a result which has not yet occurred. 

The moral responsibility connected with the question of prescrib- 
ing and dispensing opium, may be greater than has been hitherto 
acknowledged ; and the few remarks here presented are designed to 
awaken an interest among those who by position and pursuits are 
best qualified to exercise a wholesome influence upon its abuse. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE GENERATION OF HEAT FOR PHARMACEUTICAL PURPOSES. 

Many of the processes directed in the Pharmacopoeia may be 
conducted in an ordinary cannon stove — as making infusions and 
decoctions, syrups, some of the extracts, all of the ointments and 
cerates, and some of the plasters. The various kinds of cooking 
stoves are still better adapted to these purposes, each having its 
particular advantages, and nearly all offering facilities not only for 
performing the processes requiring the naked fire, but also being 
conveniently fitted with sand and water baths, and having ovens 
attached which answer the purposes of the drying chambers in 
regular pharmaceutical furnaces or stoves. 

Permanent furnaces, fitted to the proper performance of every 
pharmaceutical process, are fully described in the work of Mohr, 
Eedwood, and Procter, and in that of Prof. Morfit; a detailed 
account of these does not fall within the scope of the present work. 
A few notices of cheap and convenient forms of apparatus for 
generating heat, especially of a portable character, may be given. 

The common clay furnace is much used in open chimney-places, 
or in the open air, charcoal being the fuel ; a common bellows is 
employed when necessary to increase the intensity of the fire. 

Similar furnaces are made of cast iron, but they possess no 
advantages for use with charcoal. 

The small French hand furnace, Fig. 120, is light and portable, 
and preferable to the ordinary clay furnaces for table operations. 

Many of the operations of the pharmaceutical laboratory are 
conveniently performed with lamps, alcohol being the fuel. A 
neat and elegant alcohol lamp is that shown in Fig. 118; it has a 



136 



HEAT FOB PHAKMACEUTICAL PURPOSES. 



ground glass cap to prevent the waste of alcohol by evaporation. 
In the absence of such a lamp, a common glass bottle, with rather 



Fig. 118. 



Fig. 119. 



Ficr. 120. 





Glass spirit lamp. 



Extemporaneous glass lamp. 



French hand furnace. 



wide mouth, may be used ; a perforated cork with a small glass tube 
about an inch long is inserted in the neck of the bottle, as shown 
in Fig. 119, and the wick is made to pass through this into the 
alcohol contained in the bottle. 

A small tin alcohol lamp answers about as well as any for com- 
mon purposes, with the exception of having no cap to prevent 
evaporation from the wick; such a one is here figured, Figs. 121 
and 122, with a convenient stand in which to place it under a cap- 
sule or other vessel to be heated. 



Fig. 121. 



Fig. 122. 




Tin alcohol lamp and stand. 



Mitchell's lamp. 



Another kind of alcohol lamp, familiar to all chemical students, 
is Mitchell's argand lamp, shown in section in Fig. 123. In this, 
which is usually made of tin, an argand burner is placed in the 
centre of a cylindrical reservoir, r, with which it communicates at 
bottom by small lateral tubes ; the reservoir is furnished with a 
tube near the top at a, for the introduction of the fluid; this is 
stopped with a cork having a slight perforation, so as to admit the 
air as the alcohol is consumed. The cylindrical wick, b, which is 
inserted in the burner, is kept saturated with alcohol, owing to its 
communicating with the reservoir. When lighted at its upper edge, 
it burns freely, having a draft of air within as well as without the 
cylindrical column of flame, and generates a large amount of heat. 



HEAT FOR PHARMACEUTICAL PURPOSES. 



137 



When no longer wanted for use. the lamp should be covered by 
a cap over the burner, or emptied of alcohol, otherwise a great 
waste will occur by continued evaporation from the wick. 

Fig. 124 represents the argand burner on Mitchell's retort stand, 
in use ; a great advantage is attained by the use of a chimney to 
surround and concentrate the flame ; this may be set into the outer 
opening for draught between the reservoir r and the burner b (Fig. 
123), so as to rest upon the little lateral tubes at the bottom ; it 
should be long enough to project three inches above the top of the 
lamp. 



Fig. 124. 



Fig. 125. 




Mitchell's retort stand 




Berzelius's la 



Fig. 125 represents Berzelius's lamp ; this is adapted to alcohol or 
oil ; it is attached to a permanent stand, upon the upright rod of 
which it moves, being secured by a screw, which presses against 
the rod ; the reservoir is here separated from the burner with which 
it communicates by a single tube. Another pattern 
has the burner in the middle of the reservoir, as Fig. 126. 
in the case of Mitchell's lamp. A little screw is ™ 

arranged alongside the burner to raise or depress 
the wick. 

Fig. 126 is a chimney, which is adapted to con- 
fine the flame within narrow limits, and to increase 
the draught, thus diminishing the tendency to smoke, 
and increasing the intensity of the heat. It may be 
applied either to Berzelius's or Mitchell's lamp. 

One of the best contrivances for generating an 
intense heat for those few processes in pharmacy to 
which it is essential, and for fusing insoluble silicates 
in analytical processes, and for glass blowing, and Lamp chimney. 



138 



HEAT FOR PHARMACEUTICAL PURPOSES. 



bending operations, and numerous other uses in chemical laborato- 
ries, is the lamp here figured, which is called the Eussian lamp, or 
the alcohol blast lamp. 

This is shown in Fig. 127. It consists of a double copper cylin- 
der a, inclosed at top and bottom, and surrounding an interior 
chamber, which extends somewhat below the bottom of the 

Fig. 127. 





Russian or alcohol blast lamp and stove. 

cylinder to a permanent copper bottom, as shown in the section. 
Near the top of the cylinder, an open tube of the same material is 
soldered on at o, for the purpose of filling it ; and nearly opposite, 
on the other side, a tube b, also of copper, is inserted; this is bent 
as seen in the drawing, and gradually tapering down to a small 
diameter, enters the internal chamber between the lower terminus 
of the cylinder and the bottom ; it is now curved upward, and ter- 
minates with a small orifice at c; a movable top d, is fitted with a 
handle, and so constructed as to fit tightly over the open top of the 
chamber. E represents a sheet iron stove or furnace in which the 
lamp may be placed when used, and which serves as a support for 
crucibles, dishes, &c. The mode of using this lamp is to fill the 
cylinder with alcohol by means of the tube a, till it commences to 
run out of the jet c, then cork up the open end of the tube a, ob- 
serving not to secure the cork too tightly, for fear of explosions. 
About two fluidounces of alcohol are now poured into the central 
chamber, or sufficient to cover the bottom and rise to within an 
inch or two of the orifice at c. This spirit being now ignited by a 
match, quickly heats that contained in the surrounding cylinder, 
and as this boils the vapor formed is forced through the tube b in 
a powerful jet, which, as it escapes at c, is ignited by the flame 
playing upon the surface of that in the chamber, and thus forms a 
jet of flame possessing an intense heating power; should any 
obstruction occur in the tube b, or at the orifice c, the apparatus 
might explode, but that the cork at a would be likely to be thrown 



HEAT FOR PHAEMACEUTICAL PURPOSES. 



139 



Fig. 128. 



out. When it is desired to stop the flame, and whenever the 
apparatus is to be put out of use, the cover d is placed on the top. 

For accomplishing fluxions with carbonated alkali, where a very 
intense heat is required, I have found this lamp an admirable 
arrangement, doing away with the necessity of a 
counter blowpipe. In order to apply this jet to 
the greatest advantage for the purpose named, a 
crucible jacket, F 1 Fig. 128, may be placed upon 
the projections on the top of the stove JtJ, Fig. 127, 
immediately over the flame of the lamp. This is 
a sort of chimney made of sheet iron, and serving 
the double purpose of keeping the crucible from 
all currents of air but those highly heated by the 
flame, and of returning the flame back, somewhat 
as in a reverberatory furnace. 

The best fuel for pharmaceutical purposes is 
the coal gas now so freely and cheaply supplied 
in almost every considerable town. 

Fig. 129. 




Crucible jacket. 




The gas may be conducted by pipes into the counter or table, 
and terminated at any convenient point just above its surface by a 



140 



HEAT FOR PHARMACEUTICAL PURPOSES. 



suitable burner; or, preferably, it may have soldered onto the iron 
pipe at its terminus, a leaden one, which, being flexible, may be 
moved at pleasure to any desired part of the table. A very good 
portable apparatus, capable of being used in any part of the room, 
or in any room in the house, is shown in Fig. 129 ; it consists of a 
flexible tube of gum elastic material, which is terminated at one 
end by a cap to fit on to the burner of a common chandelier, pen- 
dant, or side light, such as are suspended from the ceilings or walls 
of apartments for the purposes of illumination. To the other end 
of this tube is a little stand of metal surmounted by a burner to be 
adapted to some of the various kinds of gas furnaces to be described 
in the sequel. 

Figs. 130 and 131, are sectional drawings, to illustrate the differ- 
ent modes of connecting the flexible tube as above with the per- 



Fig. 1G0. 



Fig. 131. 





Gas burner with mercury cup and cap. 



Ground gas burner and cap. 



manent pipe. Fig. 130 is the mercury cup arrangement ; a small 
cup is screwed on to the burner at its base, into which is intro- 
duced a few ounces of mercury, and into this the cap of the con- 
ducting tube dips so as to form an air-tight joint, which is very 
readily shipped and unshipped; in this figure the cap is repre- 
sented as having a flange covering the mercury cup, which, while 
it is in its place, protects the mercury from evaporation or from 
spilling out. "When unshipped, however, the bath of mercury is 
unprotected, and becomes wasted, frequently requiring to be 
renewed, and leading to inconvenience. Fig. 131 is a ground 
burner and cap, such as is shown also in Fig. 129. The burner 
and cap are fitted and ground to each other, so as to make a direct 
air-tight connection when adjusted, and yet are removable at 
pleasure. The screws by which the burner is attached to the pipe, 
and the cap to the flexible tube above, and also the internal con- 
struction of the fish-tail burner, are shown in this section. 



HEAT FOE PHARMACEUTICAL PURPOSES. 141 

Fig. 132 represents the argand burner with rim; these were for- 
merly much used with glass chimneys and shades, for illumination, 
but have been almost discarded on account of the great consump- 
tion of gas attendant on their use. The jet of gas is here through 
the small holes at the top of the hollow cylinder, the funnel-shaped 
appendage above being designed to spread the flame when used for 
illumination; the disk of brass screwed on below is used to support 
the chimney, and is perforated with holes so as to allow a draft of 
air around the flame, while the hollow cylindrical shape of the 
burner favors the draft through its centre. The argand burner is 
shown in Fig. 129, as covered by a gas furnace, to be described a 
few pages hence. 

Fig. 133 is a kind of burner not much used in this country, but 
well adapted to applying a low gas flame to an extended surface, 
as in evaporation; a, is a cylinder of from 4 to 8 inches diameter, 

Fig. 132. Fig. 133. 




Argand burner. Gas burner for small jets. 

or more, with very fine orifices near each other, through which the 
gas is allowed to escape and inflame, the jet being controlled so 
as to avoid a deposit of soot, while a considerable amount of dif- 
fused heat is generated, owing to the extended surface inflamed. 

Fig. 134 represents a cylindrical screen used to cover over either 
of the foregoing burners, the object being to confine the heat, to 
prevent the flame being affected by draughts, and to afford a sup- 
port for the vessel being heated. The door is convenient, when the 
top is covered, to light the flame, and to see its elevation and 
depression during the process. 

Fig. 135 represents a cylinder of sheet copper, iron, or tin (this 
may vary in length from 5 to 8 inches, and in diameter from 2 \ to 
4 inches), with a ring of the same material about an inch wide, and 
just large enough to slide over the cylinder. A piece of copper or 
brass wire gauze, of not less than 700 apertures to the square inch, 
and a little larger than the diameter of the cylinder, is stretched over 
the top, and secured by passing the ring over it, while the bottom 
is left open, and either supported upon feet or stood directly upon 
the table, the lower margin being as in this case scalloped, so as to 
allow the free passage of air into it. This gas stove, as it is called, 
is to be set immediately over a gas pipe, which may either be per- 
manent or flexible, as in Fig. 129, or it may be open at the end, or 



142 



HEAT FOR PHARMACEUTICAL PURPOSES. 



terminated by an ordinary bat- wing or fish-tail, or argand burner; 
preferably by the latter. 

Fig. 134. Fig. 135. 




i/t_J 



Fig. 136 represents a gas furnace of small diameter set upon an 
argand burner; b represents the wire gauze surface, and a the cylin- 



Fig. 136. 




Fig. 137. 





Small gas stove. 



der, which may be of brass, and perforated at the bottom so as to 
facilitate the admission of air, which also enters through the perfo- 



USE OF GAS FOR FUEL. 143 

rated rim of the argand burner. If the gas is admitted so freely as 
to produce a high flame like that shown in the figure, it will un- 
doubtedly smoke for want of a sufficient admixture of air. 

Fig. 137 is another form of gas furnace, of tin ; the bottom being 
removed, it will fit the rim of the argand burner, and is shown in 
Tig. 129, so arranged ; the object of the little cap at bottom is to 
adapt it to an ordinary fish-tail or bat-wing burner. These are 
extensively introduced in Boston for family use; price 50 cents 
each. A great many restaurants, in the various cities, are also 
supplied with these, and their construction is often varied, so as to 
give support to the vessel to be heated. An iron tripod should 
accompany the gas furnace, when permanently fixed and used for 
a single object, but with a retort-stand it may be adapted to a 
greater variety of operations when not in use. 

The mode of using the stove is to place it over the burner, and to 
allow the gas to escape into it, and thus to become mixed with air, 
then to apply a light above the surface of the wire gauze. The gas 
which, under ordinary' circumstances, burns with a bright-yellow 
flame, indicating the presence of carbon in a state of incandescence, 
and depositing, in consequence, a large amount of soot upon any cold 
body brought in contact with it, may now be so completely diluted 
with air, by regulating the jet, as to burn with a light blue flame, 
containing no carbon. The combustion being much more complete, 
and spread over the whole surface of the gauze, gives an increased 
amount of heat, and so diffuses it over the bottom of the vessel as 
to diminish the liability to fracture. This kind of heating appa- 
ratus, when the fuel is accessible, is recommended by its cleanliness, 
as it is as free from any residue or sooty deposit as alcohol itself. 
Gas is far cheaper than alcohol, even in towns where the price 
reaches $4 00 per thousand feet. In Philadelphia it is but $2 00. 
It may be applied for an indefinite period without renewing, which 
in long evaporations is particularly desirable. It may, also, be 
regulated with perfect facility, and left burning during the absence of 
the operator, without the fear of a material increase or diminution of 
the flame, thus superseding, in many instances, the necessity for a 
sand and a water bath, to be described in a subse- 
quent chapter. Fig. 138. 

In those instances where a gentle heat is re- 
quired, and especially when the vessel to be heated 
is small, the stove may be dispensed with, and an 
argand burner being used, a small chimney of metal 
or glass is set on its rim, as shown in Fig. 138, and 
the jet of gas being small, and the object removed 
some distance above the flame, a steady and con- 
tinuous heat is attained without a deposit of soot. 

In some gas furnaces, the rim used to secure the 
wire gauze over the top is made to project for a half 




144 HEAT FOR PHARMACEUTICAL PURPOSES. 

inch or more above the gauze, and the inclosure is filled 
with pieces of pumice-stone, or of brick, about the size of a 
chestnut ; the advantages of this are, that the flame is not so 
liable to be blown out by a draught of air, the rim acting as a 
shield to it; the incombustible material becoming hot, radiates 
heat beside the direct heating effect of the flame. It also pro- 
tects the wire gauze from corrosion by liquids accidentally spilled, 
and diminishes the liability to its becoming so perforated as that 
the flame may be communicated to the mixed gas in the interior of 
the stove, thus causing a slight explosion, similar to those which 
occur on a larger scale, on introducing a light into close apart- 
ments accidentally filled with a mixture, in large proportion, of gas 
and atmospheric air. If the cylinder rests on the table, and is 
short, so that the fire is brought near the top of the table, the 
Fig. 139. l iea t will scorch, and may inflame it. To avoid this, ele- 
vate the top of the cylinder at least eight inches, or place 
it and the burner both on a plaster tile. The fashion of 
putting a wire-gauze diaphragm between the gas-burner and 
the top of the stove, with a view of mixing the gas and air 
more completely, though recommended in some of the 
books, is rarely followed. 

It is well to have two or three gas stoves of different 
sizes ; the smaller will be useful in heating small capsules, 
and crucibles, in analysis, &c, while the larger will always 
be preferred for evaporating dishes, and other vessels of 
considerable diameter, used in manufacturing operations. 

Thermometer. 

The measurement of temperature, which is of practical 
importance in some heat operations, and in ascertaining the 
specific gravity of liquids, is effected by the use of a thermo- 
meter. These, as made for the measurement of ordinary 
changes in the temperature of the atmosphere, are of 
various cheap patterns, generally having a small range from 
a few degrees below zero of Fahrenheit, to about 120° 
above it. Fig. 139 represents a thermometer such as is 
convenient in a chemical or pharmaceutical laboratory. It 
is graduated from — 20° to + 640°. 

In the United States and Great Britain, Fahrenheit's 
scale is universally used, but as the student is liable to see 
in works written in continental Europe, Centigrade and 
Eeaumur's scales referred to, I append a description of 
these, with the mode of converting them into Fahrenheit's. 
The Centigrade scale is the best adapted to the wants of 
the scientific, by its decimal arrangement ; in it the freezing 
point is zero, and the boiling point of water 100°, each 
degree being equal to 1.8 Fahrenheit's. 



THERMOMETERS. 



145 



Eeaumur's scale has the boiling point of water at 80°, the zero 
being at freezing; it has been superseded, where it was formerly 
used, by Centigrade. 

Fahrenheit's has the zero 32° below the freezing point, and 180° 
between freezing and boiling, so that the latter point makes 212°. 

To reduce Centigrade to Fahrenheit's, multiply by 9, divide by 
5, and add 32. 

To reduce Eeaumur's to Fahrenheit's, multiply by 9, divide by 4, 
and add 32. 

The following diagram illustrates the relation of these three 
scales to each other : — 



Fig. 140. 
Centigrade. 



100- 
80 



Diagram of different thermometers. 



CHAPTER IX. 

ON THE MODES OF APPLYING HEAT FOR PHARMACEUTICAL PUR- 
POSES, AND ON THE DECOCTIONS. 



In most of the operations of the pharmaceutical shop and labor- 
atory, the intervention of some conducting medium, between the fire 
and the vessel in which the operation is performed, is useful, either 
10 



146 APPLYING HEAT FOR PHARMACEUTICAL PURPOSES. 

to prevent its too sudden elevation and depression of temperature, 
or to regulate the degree of heat applied. For these purposes sand, 
water and steam baths are invented. As the scope of the present 
work is not such as to embrace a full description of these, as used in 
manufacturing establishments, the reader is referred to Prof. Procter's 
edition of Mohr & Redwood's Pharmacy, to Morfith Chemical and 
Pharmaceutical Manipulations, and to the standard works on Tech- 
nology, for full descriptions and illustrations of this kind of apparatus. 
My purpose is, merely to describe such simple means of regulating 
temperature as are compatible with the arrangements of a dispensing 
shop and country practitioner's office. 

The Sand Bath. — This is used to prevent the sudden elevation and 
depression of temperature, and where arrangements for burning 
gas, such as are described in the last chapter are at command, may 
be dispensed with in nearly all cases. A convenient sand bath, at 
all times ready during the winter season, is furnished by the top of 
an ordinary sheet-iron stove, such as is used with anthracite coal for 
warming apartments ; a rim of sheet iron stretched around the top and 
projecting from three to four inches above it, makes a good receptacle 
for the sand, which becomes more or less heated according as the 
fire is increased or not, and may be used to digest infusions, to dry 
precipitates, and to evaporate any solutions, the vapors of which 
would not contaminate the atmosphere injuriously. For use with 
a common charcoal furnace, the best vessel to contain the sand, is 
a shallow cast-iron pot, fitting, though not too closely, the top of the 
furnace ; this is to be filled only so full of sand, as is necessary com- 
pletely to cover the bottom of the vessel to be set in it ; as a general 
rule, the greater the amount of sand, the greater will be the waste 
of heat. In introducing a vessel to be heated, it may be plunged 
into the sand, so as to cover the bottom and sides more or less, 
according to the degree of heat required ; and when the diameter 
of the sand bath is greater than that of the fire below, there is a 
similar choice between placing it immediately over the source of 
heat or in a less heated position near the edge of the bath. 

The Water Bath. — A good extemporaneous water bath is pre- 
pared by procuring a rather shallow tin or copper cup, and an 
evaporating dish of just such size as will completely cover it, pro- 
jecting slightly over its edge. Those glass evaporating dishes which 
have a projecting edge turned over and downwards, will fit more 
securely over the metallic vessel, without being pushed out of place 
by the force used in stirring. They are also convenient from not 
allowing the ready escape of steam round the edges: this being 
condensed, either passes back into the cup, or drops from the edge. 

The outer vessel is to be nearly filled with water, and the sub- 
stance to be heated placed in the evaporating dish, which being 



THE WATER BATH. 



147 



adjusted to its place, the whole is put over the fire, as shown in Fig. 
141. In 142, the heat is applied directly by radiation. 



Fig. 141 




Now, the temperature of boiling water under ordinary circum- 
stances of pressure being 212°, it is obvious that the contents of the 
evaporating dish cannot reach a higher point ; it is found practi- 
cally, that at least two or three degrees of heat are lost, in passing from 
the boiling water through the dish, so that when the water below is 
boiling, the temperature of the contents of the dish will not exceed 
210°. Aqueous liquids will not boil in a water bath, but most of 
the solutions used for the preparation of extracts being alcoholic, 
undergo active ebullition at this temperature. 

A disadvantage attending upon an extemporaneous arrangement, 
such as is shown above, arises from the rapid escape of steam 
from the lower vessel on all sides of the capsule : now the quantity 
of vapor which will be suspended in a given space in the atmo- 
sphere is constant at any given temperature, so that in proportion as 
such space is saturated with moisture, further evaporation becomes 
difficult. 

A convenient water bath, less liable to the above objection, is 

Fig. 143. 




here figured; it is constructed of tinned iron, or preferably of cop- 
per, and consists of an outer vessel or jacket soldered on to a shal- 



148 APPLYING HEAT FOR PHARMACEUTICAL PURPOSES. 



low dish, coated with tin, designed to contain the evaporating 
solution. The jacket is fed with water by the tube a, which may 
be fitted more or less tightly with a cork. It is tightly corked 
when the vessel is to be tilted in pouring off the contents of the 
upper part of the vessel, but loosely during the application of heat. 
In drying substances, and in all cases where it is desirable to pre- 
vent the escape of steam from the water in the jacket into the sur- 
rounding air, the cork may be perforated and fitted with a steam 
pipe of glass conducted into a vessel of cold water, 6, into the flue 
of a chimney, or through a window. When put out of use, the 
water bath should be carefully dried by wiping out the upper or 
evaporating vessel, and placing it in such a position that the jacket 
will be completely drained of its moisture. 

By adapting to the cork, as above, a tube of glass, and passing 
it into a vessel of mercury, steam may be obtained under pressure 
so as to raise the temperature of the bath somewhat above 212°, 
and this arrangement may be resorted to with advantage when a 
more rapid evaporation is desirable than that afforded by the ordi- 
nary water bath. Steam with regulated pressure is applied on a large 
scale in a variety of manufacturing processes. (See page 154.) 
Fig. 144 shows a porcelain water bath sold by the importers of 
Berlin ware, which is too 
Fig. 144. small except for experi- Fig. 145. 

mental purposes, or for 
the preparation of very 
small quantities of ex- 
tracts or chemical pro- 
ducts; it is, however, 
Porcelain water bath, very convenient in these 
cases, and not liable to 
corrosion. Figs. 145, 146, and 147 represent 
the so-called Hecker's farina boiler, which is 
useful for the preparation of farinaceous arti- Fig. 14G. 
cles of food, particularly where milk is em- 
ployed ; it obviates the danger of scorching, 
which is constantly experienced in heating 
milk by exposure to the naked fire. Fig. 
145 is an outside tin vessel with a spout for 
the ready introduction of water. Fig. 146 
is the inner vessel fitting into the above for 
containing the farinaceous substance, and Fi S- 147 - 
Fig. 147 shows the two as fitted together. 

Fig. 148 represents a little apparatus for 
applying the principle of the water bath to 
drying precipitates or filters; it consists of 

a kettle of water surmounted by a steam jacket surrounding a fun- 
nel, which is closed at bottom, so that a substance laid into it is 
heated to about 212° when the water reaches the boiling point. 





DECOCTIONS. 149 

Pig. 149 illustrates the application of the water bath to filtering 
liquids while hot — Physick's jelly strainer, Fig. 81, operates on the 
same principle. 

Fig. 148. Fig. 149. 





Water bath for drying filters. Apparatus for hot filtration. 

Pkocesses eequieing Heat. 
Decoction and the Officinal Decoctions. 

In considering the processes of desiccation (Chap. I.), and of ma- 
ceration and digestion (Chap. IV.), allusion has been made to the 
employment of artificial heat, and in the present and preceding 
chapters, the generation and application of heat in pharmacy have 
been specially treated of as far as deemed necessary to prepare the 
student for the consideration of the remaining processes of decoc- 
tion, evaporation, distillation, &c, and of the Galenical preparations 
in preparing which they are necessary. 

Decoction, or boiling, is a process to be applied with care to ve- 
getable substances in contact with water ; although boiling water, 
from its being permeated by steam, and from its being of less spe- 
cific gravity, is more penetrating than cold; it is, nevertheless, 
liable to disadvantages as a menstruum for the preparation of 
Galenical solutions. 

There appears to be a difference between the apparent tempera- 
ture of a boiling solution, and the actual heating or scorching influ- 
ence to which it is subjected by contact with the bottom and sides 
of the containing vessel. The steam generated at the point of con- 
tact being under heavy pressure in deep vessels, and temperature 
rising in proportion to pressure, it may be supposed at the moment 
of its formation to be much hotter than 212°, and if the portion of 
liquid immediately in contact with the heated vessel contains sub- 
stances in solution liable to be burnt, it is reasonable to suppose 
that such a result may occur during the moment consumed in con- 
verting any portion into steam. In this way we may account for 
the well known injurious effect of boiling upon vegetable infusions. 

Starch is a proximate principle, present in a large number of 



150 APPLYING HEAT FOR PHARMACEUTICAL PURPOSES. 

vegetables; being inert and soluble in water at a boiling tempera- 
ture, it adds to the viscidity of the solution, and renders it disagree- 
able to the patient, and yet has generally no connection with their 
medicinal activity. 

The extractive matter upon which depends the activity of some 
medicines, is more freely soluble in hot than in cold water, but the 
boiling temperature applied under ordinary circumstances produces 
the decomposition of this and other vegetable principles, or so mo- 
difies them as to impair their efficiency. The access of air seems 
to promote this result, and hence boiling in a covered vessel is 
preferable, except where the quantity of the solution is to be 
reduced by the process. In this case, by conducting the operation 
in a still, the surface of the liquid may be kept covered with the 
vapor, almost to the exclusion of the air. 

A substance called apotheme, or by some oxidized extractive, is 
also apt to be deposited by vegetable solutions on long continued 
boiling with access of air ; this may carry with it a portion of the 
active principles, and should not be rejected from the preparation. 

If the plant under treatment contains a volatile oil which it is 
desirable to retain in the solution, long boiling is inadmissible, 
especially in an open vessel. 

Vegetable decoctions, if strained while hot, generally deposit a 
portion of insoluble matter on cooling, which may or may not con- 
tain active ingredients; but it is generally advisable to retain the 
precipitate and diffuse it through the liquid, stirring or shaking it up 
before taking each dose. 

The proximate principle called vegetable albumen, which is solu- 
ble in cold water and alcohol, is coagulable at a boiling temperature, 
and hence is removed from decoctions on straining them. 

The existence of starch and tannic acid together, in a vegetable 
substance, forbids the long-continued application of a boiling tem- 
perature, especially during exposure to the air, as a tannate of starch 
is formed which is insoluble, and probably nearly inert. 

The officinal directions for making decoctions vary according to 
the nature of the drug. They are all made by the direct applica- 
tion of heat, unless where a sand bath is more convenient, or where 
a steam apparatus is kept ready for use. Some are directed to be 
made by boiling the drug in the water for ten minutes, and strain- 
ing. Others, by boiling from a pint and a half down to a pint ; 
one, by boiling from twenty fluidounces down to a pint. The 
direction in each case is given in the subjoined table, together with 
the proportions employed, and the medical properties of the drug. 
The usual dose of decoctions is the same as infusions, foij, repeated 
several times a day. Some are given ad libitum. 



EXTRACTS. 



151 



Group 1. — f j to Oj. 



Decoctum chimaphilge 
uvse ursi 
dulcamaras 
haematoxyli 
quercus alb. 
cinch, flav. 
" rub. 
cornus floridse 
senegas 
hordei 



to Oiss ; boil to Oj 
to fsxx do. 
to Oiss do. 

to Oij do. 

to Oiss do. 

5jj to Oj, boil ten minutes 
do. do. 

do. do. 

3J to Oiss, boil to Oj 
ij to Oivss, boil to Oij 



Oj per diem 



Ad libitum 



Alt. diaph. 
Ast. diuretic. 
Alt. narcotic. 
Astringent. 

od. 
Tonic. 

do. 

do. 
Stim. expec't. 
Demulcent. 



Group 2. — Exceptions to the usual proportions. 



Decoctum cetrarias 


Uss to Oiss, boil to Oj 


Oj per diem 


Tonic demulc. 


" taraxaci 


jfij to Oij do. 


m 


Diuretic. 


" sarsap. comp. 


Sarsap. gvj 1 








Sassafras, to Oiv, 
Guaiac, \ boil 15 
Liquorice, aa ,^j | min. 


fgiv ' 


Alterative. 
Diaphoretic. 




Mezereon, ^iij J 







Decoctum hordei, called barley-water, is peculiar in its mode of 
preparation, the directions requiring that the decorticated seeds, 
called pearl barley, should be washed with cold water to separate 
extraneous matters, then boiled for a short time in a small portion 
of water, which is to be thrown away : upon the seeds, which, by this 
process, are completely freed from any unpleasant taste, and are 
much swollen, the remainder of the water is poured boiling hot ; it 
is now to be boiled down to two pints and strained. Yarious adju- 
vants are used to improve the taste of this, such as raisins, figs, 
liquorice-root, &c, which are sometimes contraindicated. Its use 
is as a demulcent and nutritive drink in inflammatory and febrile 
diseases affecting the alimentary canal and the urinary organs. 



CHAPTER X. 

ON EVAPORATION AND THE EXTRACTS. 

This process, which is employed in the preparation of most of 
the extracts, fluid extracts, and syrups, and in the concentration of 
solutions generally, differs from that of decoction in the degree of 
heat employed, and in the precautions necessary to success. 

"When the liquid under treatment is brought to a temperature 



152 EVAPORATION AND THE EXTRACTS. 

above its boiling point, so that the formation of vapor is upon the 
inner surface of the containing vessel, and it escapes bj its elasti- 
city through the body of the liquid in the form of bubbles, the pro- 
cess is termed decoction; but when the liquid does not reach its 
boiling point, and the temperature and other circumstances are 
such that it is liberated without disturbance, in the form of vapor, 
directly from the surface exposed to the air, it is termed evapora- 
tion. When this change to vapor is spontaneous, without the appli- 
cation of artificial heat, it is called vaporization, though this term, 
as generally applied, is synonymous with evaporation. 

In decoction, the rapidity of the conversion of the liquid into 
vapor is in proportion to the extent of surface of the containing 
vessel exposed to the fire, while in evaporation it depends upon the 
extent of surface of the liquid exposed to the air. Viewed as 
processes for dissipating the volatile liquid ingredients from a 
solution, these differ chiefly in regard to the degree of heat 
employed, and the consequent rapidity with which the object is 
attained. For reasons hinted at in the last chapter, evaporation at 
a moderate temperature is generally preferred, and is indicated in 
the Pharmacojjozia, for the preparation of most extracts. Many 
vegetable solutions, which would be greatly deteriorated by the 
long boiling necessary to reduce them to the condition of extracts, 
may be exposed to a temperature below their boiling point in a 
wide and shallow vessel until completely inspissated, with but little 
danger of losing their solubility, or their medicinal activity. 

Extracts are, therefore, always evaporated in shallow vessels, 
which should be of porcelain, or well tinned iron or copper. Fig. 
150 represents an evaporating dish of Berlin ware, which is the 
best material. The preparation of ex- 
Fig- 15 °- tracts is rendered tedious by the low 
temperature employed, the rapidity of 
evaporation being in proportion to the 
temperature, thus: at 180°, the rate of 
evaporation is only one-half what it is 
at 212° ; and at 150°, it is only one-half 
Berlin evaporating dish. what it is at 180°. The long exposure 
of a vegetable solution to a moderate 
heat, besides being so tedious, is liable to objections of exposing 
the proximate constituents present for a long period to the oxidiz- 
ing influence of the air, sometimes even producing the acetous fer- 
mentation. 

The liquid to be evaporated should be divided into comparatively 
small portions, and each reduced separately till it is highly concen- 
trated ; then the whole may be mixed. By this means, no one por- 
tion is kept a very long time under the unfavorable circumstances 
of an elevated temperature and exposure to the air. 

A draught greatly facilitates evaporation by carrying off the air as 
fast as it becomes charged with moisture, and constantly furnishing 




IMPROVED APPARATUS. 



153 



Pig. 151. 



a dry atmosphere to become saturated in turn with the escaping 
vapor. Constant stirring, by continually exposing a large surface 
of the heated liquid to the air, also increases the rapidity of evapo- 
ration. 

The different modes of applying heat for the purposes of evapo- 
ration, are : 1st. Directly by exposing the containing vessel to the 
source of heat. 2d. By' a sand bath. 3d. By a water bath. 4th. 
By a steam bath. 

Whenever a vegetable solution is evaporated by a direct appli- 
cation of heat, it should be at such an elevation from the furnace 
or lamp, as not to be touched by the 
flame, so that the heat should be com- 
municated by radiation. When the 
heat is under perfect control, as in a 
gas furnace, this plan is not objection- 
able, and may be substituted for the 
use of a water bath with the advantage 
of being raised to the boiling point, 
or depressed below it at pleasure. 

Fig. 151 shows an arrangement for 
the direct application of radiated heat 
in evaporation; a is a diaphragm of 
wire gauze placed between the evapo- 
rating dish b and the source of heat c, 
which spreads the flame and prevents 
its contact with the dish, though brought closely together; the dia- 
phragm a may be omitted in using a gas furnace, as the flame is 
then under control by regulating the jet. 

As several retort stands have already been shown in the last 
chapter, and in that on displacement, and as the instrument as 
commonly constructed is sufficiently familiar, I shall here confine 
myself to describing an improvement in their construction which 
is worthy of notice. In the ordinary kind, it is necessary in ad- 
justing apparatus, or when it is desirable to disconnect or alter the 
position of the rings for any purpose, to slide them up the whole 
length of the rod, and remove all above them, which is sometimes 
a very great inconvenience. In Wiegand's improvement, the cast- 
ing that clasps the rod is open on one side to the diameter of the 
rod, so that by loosening the screw it may be slipped off laterally, 
and yet, when the screw is tightened so as to press firmly against 




Application of radiated heat. 



Fig. 152. 



the rod, it is sufficiently secure to bear any weight appropriate to 
such an apparatus. Fig. 152 gives a view of one of these sepa- 



154 EVAPORATION AND THE EXTRACTS. 

rated from the rod, and in Fig. 151 the whole retort stand is shown 
in use, giving a front view of the improved clasp. 

The sand bath is very little employed in the preparation of ex- 
tracts, possessing no advantages over the carefully regulated direct 
application of radiated heat. The water bath is directed in all the 
officinal processes, for the preparation of extracts ; its advantages 
are detailed on p. 147. Whatever means may be resorted to for 
effecting the concentration of vegetable solutions, with a view to 
the preparation of extracts, they should be finally evaporated to 
the proper consistence, either on a water bath or spontaneously; 
and this remark applies to all cases of evaporation below the boil- 
ing point of the liquid, when accomplished by unskilful and inex- 
perienced persons. 

The steam bath is by far the most eligible means of applying 
heat for the purposes under discussion, although being out of the 
reach of a majority of pharmaceutists and medical practitioners, it 
is confined, for the most part, to the comparatively few who manu- 
facture pharmaceutical preparations as a business. The difference 
between a steam bath and a water bath, consists in the application 
of pressure to the steam boiler in the one case and not in the other. 
The temperature of steam bears a remarkable relation to the pres- 
sure under which it is maintained; steam under pressure of five 
pounds to the square inch is at a temperature of 226°, which is 
about as high as can be safely employed in making extracts; as the 
liquid will boil at this temperature, of course the evaporation is 
more rapid than ordinary surface evaporation, and yet the contain- 
ing vessel is not so hot as to deteriorate the vegetable principles 
present. 

By the regulation of the pressure, the temperature may be 
increased or diminished at pleasure, and its application may be 
suddenly stopped if required. 

A steam boiler, by arranging pipes communicating with suitable 
forms of apparatus, and by adapting the fittings and safety valve 
so as to regulate the pressure, may be made to supply the heat 
necessary for boiling, evaporating, digesting, distilling, drying, and 
even heating an apartment. 

In the preparation of extracts by steam apparatus, the pressure 
is so regulated that, as the solution becomes inspissated, the degree 
of heat shall be diminished. Near the conclusion of the process, 
the extract is sometimes withdrawn, and poured in thin layers on 
plates of glass, which are placed in a drying room or closet till 
sufficiently hard. 

The most perfect form of apparatus for the preparation of ex- 
tracts, is a combination of the steam bath with a vacuum pan. A 
suitable air-tight boiler is connected with an air pump worked by 
machinery, which, by removing the pressure of the atmosphere 
from the liquid placed in it, lowers the boiling point, and greatly 
increases the rapidity of evaporation, even at a temperature much 



NARCOTIC EXTRACTS. 155 

below 212°. The air being excluded, the principal objection to 
the long continued evaporation of vegetable solutions is also 
removed. ' 

In all first-rate establishments for the manufacture of extracts, 
apparatus constructed upon this principle is employed, and the 
superiority of their products over those made by evaporation, 
under ordinary circumstances of pressure and exposure to the air, 
furnishes a clear proof of the advantage , obtained by the steam 
and vacuum apparatus. 

As the preparation of extracts is generally confined to those 
pharmaceutists who make it their chief business, a few words in 
relation to their physical characters, and the mode of distinguishing 
those of good quality, will be more useful to the student than a 
description of the processes and precautions to be observed, in 
making them. 

Extracts are classified in this work primarily, according to the 
menstruum employed in their preparation; and secondarily, ac- 
cording to their therapeutical properties, and both these ideas are 
kept in view in the syllabus presented below. 



EXTRACTA, U. S. P. 

Class I. 

Narcotic inspissated juices, prepared by braising or mashing the 
fresh plant into a pulp, and expressing the juice from this latter; 
then raising to the boiling point, to coagulate the vegetable albu- 
men and green coloring matter, and separating these by straining ; 
after which evaporate the clear liquid to its proper consistence. 



Officinal Name. 


Med. Dose. 


Remarks. 


Extractum Aconiti 

" Belladonnse 

" Stramonii foliorum 


1 to 2 grs. 
do. 

do. 


See Class I., Group 1, Tinctures. 
and Class II., Group 1, Ex- 
tracts. 
See Class II., Ext. Stramonii 


Conii 
" Hyoscyami 


2 to 3 grs. 
do. 


seminis. 
In practice, usually a smaller 

dose often repeated. 
Much used as a substitute for 



opium. 

Good extracts of this class have been, until recently, obtained 
almost exclusively from the English manufacturers, although some 
nearly worthless were imported from Germany, and some produced 
by the Shakers. We now obtain the very best from Tilden & Co., 
of New Lebanon, N. Y., to whose enterprise in this department of 
pharmacy a great improvement in the quality of medicinal extracts 
generally is due; they were the first manufacturers in this country 
who introduced, the complete steam bath and vacuum pan in the 
evaporation of extracts. While by the abundant cultivation of the 



156 



EVAPORATION AXD THE EXTRACTS. 



herbs required, and the extensive arrangements of their factory, 
they are enabled to produce large quantities of these invaluable 
remedies at prices lower than the English can be imported. The 
enterprise of this firm has induced a spirited competition on the 
part of their old rivals, the United Brethren, or Shakers, who have 
improved the quality of their production within a few years. 

The five extracts classed above form a remarkably natural group, 
therapeutically, pharmaceutically, and physically ; as commonly 
prepared and imported, they have a more or less decidedly green 
color, and this feature was formerly regarded as a test of their 
having been prepared without scorching from the employment of 
too high heat; but inasmuch as the green coloring principle (chlo- 
rophylle) is associated with the inert and insoluble vegetable albu- 
men, which the Pharmacopceia directs shall be first coagulated and 
separated, all strictly officinal extracts prepared by inspissating the 
juice of the green herbs are destitute of this, have a light brown 
color, and are soluble in water. Under the name of clarified ex- 
tracts, Tildens offer an article answering this description put up in 
bottles of half a pound, four ounces, and one ounce each. Figs. 
153 and 154 exhibit one of these, with the box in which it is kept. 



Fie. 153. 



Fie. 164. 





The odor of these extracts is one of the surest indications of the 
quality ; it should, as nearly as possible, resemble that of the 
undried plant. 

Extracts which are thus deprived of a portion of their inert con- 
stituents (clarified) are, of course, other things being equal, stronger 
than the kind formerly in use; and, hence, the doses stated in the 
books are generally rather above those usually prescribed. I have 
known of one instance of great inconvenience resulting from a phy- 
sician ordering too large a dose of extract of belladonna, under a 
wrong impression as to the strength of the best commercial article. 
This impression was founded in part on his own experience with 
the inferior article, which was formerly kept exclusively in the shops, 
and which he had met with in country practice. 



NARCOTIC EXTRACTS. 157 

Extract of belladonna is much used in the treatment of diseases 
of the eye, and especially for the dilatation of the pupil before opera- 
tion for cataract; for this purpose the extract is softened with water 
to the consistence of a thick liquid, and applied directly to the eye- 
ball, and painted on to the upper and lower lids a few hours before 
the operation. 

Extract of conium is readily tested by the following interesting 
experiment: Take a small pellet of the extract, soften it into a thin 
paste with water, and add a drop of solution of potassa, or of car- 
bonate of potassa ; immediately a strong characteristic odor will be 
observed, resembling, when faint, the odor of mice. This is from 
the liberation in a gaseous form of conia, the active principle of the 
herb ; at the same time ammonia will be set free, as shown by hold- 
ing near it a rod moistened with muriatic acid, when a cloud of 
muriate of ammonia will be produced. 

Tf the extract is very inferior, the experiment will not succeed, 
or will be only partially successful. 

These extracts are to be ordered in prescription by the names 
given them above, and must be carefully distinguished from those 
to be now introduced. 

Class II. 

Hydro-Alcoholic and Alcoholic Extracts. — By the preparation of 
tinctures with diluted alcohol, or with alcohol and water used sepa- 
rately, or alcohol alone, and subsequent evaporation to the proper 
consistence. 

Group 1. — Narcotics, &c. 
Officinal Name. Med. Dose. Remarks. 

Extractum Aconiti alcoholicum £ gr. to 1 gr. See Class I. of Extracts, and 
" Belladonnas " do. . Class I., Group 1, Tinctures. 

" Stramonii seminis do. 

" Conii alcoholicum 1 to 2 grs. 

" Hyoscyami " do. 

" Nucis vomicae (Made with al- 

cohol, 385°.) Nervous stimulant. 

These correspond so nearly with the first class as to be conve- 
niently studied in comparison with them. By the use of diluted 
alcohol with the dried leaves, a large amount of the extractive and 
albuminous matters are left behind, and, on evaporation, the active 
principles of the plant are obtained in a more concentrated form 
than when the thick expressed juice, containing also a portion of 
the cellular structure, is evaporated as in the first class. 

These extracts have a brownish aspect; they should possess the 
odor of the plant, and be soluble in diluted alcohol. 

As will be observed, their dose is about half that of the corre- 
sponding extracts of the first class. 

They are seldom met with in commerce, but are designed to be pre- 



158 EVAPORATION AND THE EXTRACTS. 

pared by the physician and apothecary, in the absence of reliable 
extracts of the first class. They may be obtained by the careful 
evaporation of the corresponding tinctures. They are seldom pre- 
pared, owing to the expense of obtaining the dried leaves in a state 
of perfect preservation, and the waste of alcohol. Extract of stra- 
monium seed is an unexceptionable preparation, and might often 
be substituted for the extract of the herb with advantage. 

Extract of nux vomica, though not properly a narcotic extract, 
is classed with the others for convenience ; it may be prepared by 
the evaporation of the officinal tincture, and is an exceedingly 
powerful and efficient nervous stimulant much used in certain 
forms of dyspepsia connected with obstinate constipation. 





Group 2. 








Officinal Name. 


Dose. 






Med. Prop. 


•actum Ilellebori 


10 to 15 grs. 






Cathartic. 


" Jala pas 


do. 






do. 


Rhei 


do. 






do. 


" Podophylli (May 










apple) 


5 to 10 grs. 






do. 


" Cinchonas flaw 


10 to 15 grs. 






Tonic. 


" " rub. 


do. 






do. 


" Sarsaparillas 


do. 






Alterative, 


" Coloeynthidiscomp 


. (Colocynth made 


into tii 


acture 






and evaporated, 


aloes, 


scam' 






mony, soap, and card 


amorc 


i 




added.) 






Cathartic. 



Of the above cathartics, each has its peculiar properties, adapting 
it to some particular use. Extract of hellebore is used as an emme- 
nagogue cathartic. In combination with aloes, myrrh, sulphate of 
iron, &c, it constitutes the celebrated Hooper's Female Pills. Extract 
of jalap, and compound extract of colocynth, are combined with 
calomel and gamboge in the compound cathartic pill. Extract of 
podophyllum is less used than it deserves, being equal to extract 
of jalap in its cathartic effect in half the dose. Extract of rhubarb 
is rarely employed. Extracts of cinchona and sarsaparilla are 
seldom used in practice in this country, although the latter is in 
good repute in England. These extracts of cinchona must not be 
confounded with the article called Wetherill's Extract, nor with 
extractum calisayicum, which are superior preparations. 

Class III. 
Extracts made by Displacement with Gold Water and Evaporation. 



Officinal Name. 


Med. Dose. 


Remarks. 


Extractum Gentianse 


10 to 20 grs. 


Tonic. 


" Quassias 


3 to 6 grs. 


do. 


" Dulcamaras (Bittersweet) 


do. 


Alterative narcotic. 


" Kramerias (Hhatany) 


10 to 20 grs. 


Astringent. 


" Juglandis (Butternut) 


do. 


Cathartic. 


Opii 


1 grain. 


Narcotic. 



EXTKACTS. 159 

The great advantage of extract of quassia over extract of gentian 
in making pills, will be seen by comparing the dose. Extract of 
rhatany when well prepared, so as to be soluble in water, is a valu- 
able substitute for kino and catechu, which it resembles in phy- 
sical as well as medical properties. Extract of opium is added to 
eye-washes and astringent injections. 

Extracts not included in either Class. 

By Decoction in Water, Straining and Evaporating. 

Extractum Haematoxyli (logwood). Dose, 10 to 20 grains. Astringent. 

This is highly esteemed as a very mild astringent, and is much 
used in the arts as a pigment. 

By Expressing the Milky Juice from the Root and Evaporating. 
Extractum Taraxaci (dandelion). Dose, 9i to gi. Diuretic, &c. 

No extract out of the narcotic series is so popular as this ; it is 
much used in the treatment of liver complaint, habitual constipation, 
and as a diuretic in dropsy. Being soluble in water, it may be con- 
veniently given in liquid form. 

By Preparing a Medicated Vinegar and Evaporating. 
Extractum Colchici aceticum (meadow saffron). Dose, 1 to 3 grains. Diuretic. 

This most valuable preparation has been recently introduced ; it 
is well adapted to combining with other ingredients in pilular form, 
and, with extract of digitalis, enters into the celebrated Lartique's 
Gout pills. I have obtained 5 ounces of this extract from 10,000 
grains of the root, or about 25 per cent. 

Unofpicinal and -Pseudo Extracts. 

Under this head will be brought into view a number of prepara- 
tions, among which are the following : — 

Evaporated Tinctures. 

Extract of Digitalis ale. Dose, J grain Sedative diuretic. 

" of Ignatia amara " f grain Tonic, excit. motor. 

" of Lupulin " 3 to 5 grains Narcotic. 

" of Cimicifuga " 3 to 10 grains Sedative tonic. 

" of Valerian " 3 to 10 grains Antispasmodic. 

Extract of Digitalis, Alcoholic. 

The dried and powdered leaves of digitalis are more used in prac- 
tice than the extract, but the latter, if skilfully prepared, is, I think, ' 
more reliable, besides being capable of being combined in liquid 
form. 



160 EVAPOEATION AND THE EXTRACTS. 

Extradum Ignatice Amarce Alcoholicum. 

This preparation has been proposed as a " remedy" for dyspepsia, 
attended with nervous depression, and extensively advertised as 
such by a clergyman of Brooklyn, JST. Y., who, having been cured 
by it, makes it known to others for the benefit of humanity. The 
recipe, as here given, is an improvement upon his, and is offered for 
the benefit of apothecaries, who may be called upon to make it. 

The beans of St. Ignatius, like mix vomica, have a very horny and 
tough kernel (due to bassorin and fixed oil), which renders it diffi- 
cult to powder them so as to extract their soluble matter. Profes- 
sor Procter recommends the following process for their extraction. 
The beans are bruised in an iron or brass mortar, until reduced to 
small fragments or very coarse powder ; they are then moistened with 
water in a covered vessel, and heated until the tissue of the pieces 
has become soft, and can be bruised into a pulp}* mass. This is then 
mixed with twice its bulk of alcohol, sp. gr. .835, and allowed to ma- 
cerate in a close vessel in a warm place for 24 hours, and then treated 
by displacement until 8 or 10 times the weight of the drug is 
obtained. The alcohol is then distilled off and the residue heated 
in a water bath until reduced to the consistence of a soft extract. By 
this process, about 10 per cent, of a brown colored, intensely bitter 
extract may be obtained. This extract is much stronger than extract 
of nux vomica, and is directed to be made into a mass with gum 
Arabic, in the proportion of 30 grains of the extract to 10 of gum, 
and divided into -40 pills (f grain in a pill), one of which is to be 
taken three times a day. 

It is scarcely necessary to remark that the free use of a medicine 
of such power, containing one of the most poisonous of alkaloids, as 
a popular remedy, to be given without the advice and care of a 
physician, is most dangerous and unjustifiable. 

Extract of Lupulin. 

(W. W. D. LlYERMORE.) 

Take of Lupulin siv. 

" Alcohol f.5viii. 

Mix in a percolator and allow it to stand an hour, then displace with 

Alcohol q. s. 

until two pints are obtained ; pour this into a shallow dish, and allow 
it to evaporate spontaneously. 5i of lupulin yields about 9ii of the 
extract, which is proposed as a substitute when prescribed in the 
pilular form. The dose being somewhat less than that of lupulin, 
is an advantage, besides its utility as a convenient and adhesive 
excipient with other substances. 



EXTRACTS. 161 

Extractum Cimicifugce. (Am. Journ. Pharm., vol. xxvi. p. 106.) 

This extract is made by evaporating separately a tincture pre- 
pared with 1 part of ether and 2 of alcohol, and one made with di- 
luted alcohol, until they reach a syrupy consistence, then mixing 
these and finishing the evaporation over a water bath, with constant 
stirring. Eight grains of this represent 3i of the root. 

Extractum Valeriana} — Made as follows : Macerate the root in 
coarse powder, with twice its weight of strong alcohol, then dis- 
place with diluted alcohol, until exhausted. The first portion of 
the tincture is to be evaporated spontaneously, and reserved for 
addition to the extract formed by evaporating the diluted alcohol 
tincture. The addition of a portion of elher to the first portion of 
alcohol would facilitate the solution of the oil, and, also, the spon- 
taneous evaporation of the menstruum. 

The following unofficinal extracts are made with different men- 
strua from the foregoing : — 

Extractum Calisayicum Dose 2 to 5 grs. Tonic antiperiodic. 

" Ergotas (aqueous) " Excito-motor. 

" Pareiras " " 10 to 30 grs. Tonic diuretic. 

" Uvse ursi " " " " 

" Lobelias aceticum " 2 to 3 grs. Narcotic sedative. 

Calisaya Extract (Ellis). — First recommended by Charles Ellis, 
of this city, in an article published in the Amer. Journ. Pharm., 
vol. xx. p. 15, is made by boiling coarsely-powdered Calisaya bark 
in successive portions of water, acidulated with muriatic acid, pre- 
cipitating the decoction with hydrate of lime, digesting the pre 
cipitate in hot alcohol till all taste is exhausted, and then evapor- 
ating the alcohol so as to leave an extract. The old-fashioned 
precipitated extract of bark was nearly identical with this, which 
is only objectionable on the score of expense. 

It contains all the quinia and cinchonia contained in the bark, 
besides the amorphous quinia, or chinoidine, and is an admirable 
substitute for the celebrated Wetherill's extract, formerly much in 
vogue. Its dose is from 2 to 5 grs. 

Ergotine. — Under this name an aqueous extract of ergot is sold 
in the shops, for which the following is the formula of M. Bonjean : 
Exhaust powdered ergot by displacement with cold water, heat the 
solution in a water bath and filter ; evaporate to the consistence of 
syrup, and add rectified spirit to throw down the gummy matter; 
when settled, decant the clear liquid, and evaporate by water bath. 
One ounce of ergot yields about 70 grains. It is said to possess 
the haemostatic without the toxic effects of ergot. 

Extractum pareirm is prepared from sliced pareira brava, by de- 
coction with water, straining and evaporating. A decoction is 
more frequently prescribed. 



162 EVAPORATION AXD THE EXTRACTS. 

Extractum Uvce Ursi. — The London College directs the preparation 
of this, also, by maceration and decoction with water. Its dose is 
the same as the foregoing, and they are both used as tonics and 
diuretics in chronic urinary disorders. 

Extractum Lobelice Aceticum. (Am. Journ. Pharm., vol. xiv. p. 108.) 

To prepare this, the powdered seed of lobelia are macerated, and 
then displaced with diluted alcohol, to the first portion of which 
has been added a small portion of acetic acid. This liquid is then 
to be evaporated to the consistence of an extract, which will be 
about one-eighth the quantity of the seed employed. Dose 2 to 3 
grains. The object of the use of the acetic acid, is to form a solu- 
ble acetate of lobelina, less readily decomposable by heat than the 
native salt. 

The extracts of lettuce, poppyheads, and hops are very weak nar- 
cotic extracts, occasionally prescribed, but less esteemed than lactu- 
carium, opium, and lupuline, which are the more efficient products 
of their respective plants. 

Chinoidine is the name given to an insoluble residuary extractive 
principle obtained in the manufacture of quinia, which will be 
adverted to under the head of alkaloids. 

The following impure forms of extract are officinal in the list of 
the Pharmacopoeia : — 

Extractum Cannabis, a powerful exhilarant and narcotic. 
" Glycyrrhizse, an inspissated saccharine juice. 

Extractum Cannabis. — The alcoholic extract of cannabis sativa, 
variety Indica, is imported from the East Indies, and directed by 
the Dublin College to be purified by solution in alcohol, filtration, 
and evaporation. The close of the purified extract, which is occa- 
sionally met with in our market, is from 1 grain upwards, till its 
effects are produced. It must not be confounded with an extract 
of apocynum cannabinum, occasionally met with. 

Extractum glycyrrhizse is the name given in the list of the 
Pharmacopoeia, to the common drug known as liquorice, imported 
from Italy and Spain. Until recently this was the only extract of 
liquorice used ; our manufacturers now make a true and proper 
extract, which is made in either of two ways, as follows : — 

1st Process. — Take of liquorice root, bruised, any convenient 
quantity, macerate in water, with the application of heat, until ex- 
hausted ; strain, and evaporate to the consistence of an extract. 

2d Process. — Take of liquorice (impure extract) any convenient 
quantity, lay the pieces of liquorice in a large displacer, or a bar- 
rel, in layers alternating with straw ; macerate, and then percolate 
the mass with cold water, and evaporate the clear liquid that runs 
off. The pieces of liquorice will be found to have lost their saccha- 
rine extractive matter, although retaining their shape as before. 



RESINOID EXTRACTS. 163 

The extract has a yellow color, becoming brown by age, and the 
taste of the root, and is deliquescent, so as to require to be kept in 
jars. Tilden's extract of liquorice is made into sticks of a yellow- 
ish-brown color by admixture with gum Arabic ; in taste it resem- 
bles the root more decidedly than that of black liquorice. 

" Concentrated" or Eesinoid Extracts. 

Jalapin is the name given to the resin of jalap, which may be 
separated pure enough for medicinal use by preparing a concen- 
trated tincture with strong alcohol, and throwing it into a consider- 
able quantity of water, when the resin will be precipitated, and may 
be collected and dried. It is given in doses of three to eight grains, 
triturated with sugar. 

Podophyllin, which is made in the same way from May-apple root, 
is a powerful cathartic in doses of from one to three grains, and is a 
useful preparation, especially when combined with milder and less 
drastic medicines. 

Macrotin is a name given by " eclectics" to the impure resin of 
cimicifuga racemosa; it is used in doses of from one to six grains 
in the course of a day, in the treatment of chorea and other diseases, 
in which the root is commonly used. (See Chapter on Resins, also 
a paper, by the author, on Eclectic Pharmacy, in the American Journ. 
of Pharm., vol. xxiii. p. 329.) 

Stillingin. — Under this name the "American Chemical Institute," 
" eclectic" pharmaceutists, prepare a sort of pulverulent extractive 
principle from the root of stillingia sylvatica, or queen's delight, an 
indigenous plant which has had a reputation for many years, chiefly 
as a domestic remedy, in scrofulous and venereal diseases. The 
dose stated for this preparation is two to four grains ; it is a crude 
preparation, having no just claim to be considered the active prin- 
ciple of the plant. 

Leptandrin. — The "eclectic" active principle obtained from the 
root of leptandra Virginica, an indigenous herb formerly officinal 
in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, is an impure resinoid, very much used 
by practitioners of that school " to stimulate the hepatic secretion 
where it is desirable not to produce debility by drastic alvine 
evacuations ;" they also recommend it in small doses in dysentery, 
diarrhoea, and cholera infantum. Dose, two to four grains. 

Hydrastin, as prepared from the root of hydrastis Canadensis, 
golden seal, is advertised as an alkaloid ; it is a beautiful yellow 
powder with a bitter taste, and is recommended as a tonic with a 
special influence upon the mucous membrane of the stomach and 
bowels. The root of hydrastis, which is one of the ranunculacese, 
was analyzed by Alfred A. B. Durand, and a supposed alkaloid 
crystalline principle was obtained, though not purified, as also an 
acrid resin and extractive ; how far the " eclectic" preparation is 
entitled to be considered as the alkaloid principle of the drug, ex- 



164 EVAPOEATION AND THE EXTRACTS. 

periraent only can determine. Another preparation of the same 
root is sold by the same makers as hydrastin ; it is described as the 
resinoid principle, and as possessed of similar though less active 
properties. The dose of the former is stated at from one to two 
grains, of the latter as two to three grains. 

Sanguinarin is offered as the active principle of bloodroot, but 
whether the alkaloid or resinoid principle is not stated ; if prepared 
by the only published process I have seen, that of Merrill, it would 
probably contain but little of the former, which is the most active 
of its constituents. 

As a class, these preparations, which are very numerous, cannot 
with truth be called the active principles of the several plants from 
which derived, unless where these are purely resinoid, as in the 
case of podophyllum and jalap. In regard to their efficiency as 
medicines, we have too little testimony from disinterested and well 
educated practitioners to form an intelligent judgment. Injustice 
to the so-called "eclectic practitioners," it must be admitted that they 
have been instrumental in introducing to notice some obscure 
medical plants which possess valuable properties, too much over- 
looked; it is to be regretted that their narrow and unscientific sys- 
tem of practice, and their disposition to run into pharmaceutical 
empiricism, should have so long limited their usefulness and ex- 
cluded them from the pale of the regular profession. 

The physical properties of extracts vary, according to their compo- 
sition, age, and the circumstances in which they are kept. 

The narcotic extracts of the first class, as vended by the manu- 
facturers, are apt to be too soft for convenient use in the form of 
pills, and are disposed to deliquesce. This want of a firm consist- 
ence, which results from a disposition to preserve the more volatile 
ingredients from loss in the final concentration, causes no inconve- 
nience when the extract is used with a considerable proportion of 
dry or hard ingredients. Sometimes it is obviated by combining 
with them powdered liquorice, lycopodium, or tragacanth, when the 
additional bulk is no objection. The hydro-alcoholic extracts are 
seldom liable to this objection. They harden on exposure to the 
air, and when old are sometimes inconveniently dry and brittle. 
The extracts of jalap and podophyllum are apt to become tough 
and unmanageable, so as to resist the action of the pestle either by 
trituration or contusion. Extract of jalap is ordered, in compound 
cathartic pills, in the form of powder, and this is in every respect its 
best form for use; it is conveniently kept in bottles, as other pow- 
ders are, is readily weighed and incorporated with other substances, 
and becomes plastic by the addition of moisture. Few manufac- 
turers push the evaporation so far as to produce the extract dry 
enough for powdering ; but there is no difficulty in accomplishing 
it where steam is employed, and as a demand grows up for the 
article it will be more generally met with in the stores, although at 



PRESERVING AND USING EXTRACTS. 



165 



Fig. 155. 



a somewhat advanced price on the soft extract. Compound extract 
of colocynth is frequently brittle enough to powder, and is some- 
times met with in this form. The addition of soap to its other 
ingredients prevents a liability to toughness, besides increasing its 
solubility. 

Extract of rhatany is always pulverulent, and when properly 
made is nearly soluble in water. 

The mode of preserving extracts next requires attention. The kind 
of jars usually employed for preserving extracts are here figured. 
Those with covers or tops are most eligible. 
In furnishing a shop where a good many are 
needed, it is well to reserve the canopy-top 
jars exclusively for ointments, the fiat tops 
for extracts, for the sake of distinction. Ex- 
tracts should never be put in gallipots or 
tie-overs, except for temporary purposes. 
Besides the cover, which fits loosely on the 
jars, there should be a piece of bladder, oiled 
paper, or preferably tinfoil, stretched over 
the open top before fitting on the lid. 

In the case of soft extracts, which have a 
tendency to mould, the occasional addition 
of a few drops of alcohol is found advantage- 
ous. Extracts put up in glass, wide mouth 
bottles, either with ground stoppers or corks, 
are preferable to jars in affording a more 
complete exclusion of the air, but the smaller 
sized bottles, having too narrow mouths to admit a spatula of ordi- 
nary width, are inconvenient. 




Canopy-top jar. 



Fig. 156. 



Fig. 15/ 



Fig. 158. 




Tie-over jar. 



Flat-top covered jar. 



Gallipot. 



The Uses of Extracts. — This class of preparations may be used 
either in the form of pills, solution, or mixture. They are chiefly 
prescribed in the pilular form, combined with other substances, 
and to this they are peculiarly adapted. One of the chief points 
in making pills is to increase or modify the effect in the highest 
degree, without a corresponding increase of bulk. Hence the utility 



166 FLUID EXTRACTS. 

of adding extracts to substances possessing no adhesiveness, choos- 
ing among them such as will most promote the therapeutic effect, 
while a plastic mass will be the result. Thus, in tonic pills, as of 
subcarbonate of irou or sulphate of quinia, extract of quassia or of 
gentian would be preferable to an inert substance like conserve of 
rose or mucilage. 

In dilute aqueous solutions, extracts are not generally preferable 
to the corresponding tinctures, but where the dose of the tincture 
would be large, the physician often avails himself of the extract 
in preference, as not containing alcoholic stimulus. Extracts are 
generally combined in mixtures containing sweet or viscid substances 
more than in solutions proper, although in cases where the quantity 
of the extract desired is large, and it is soluble in water, it may be 
employed to impart viscidity to a mixture, and to suspend insolu- 
ble substances without the necessity of using either gum or sugar. 

In triturating an extract, particularly a hard one, with viscid 
liquids, as syrup or mucilage, or with lard in making ointments, 
considerable difficulty is experienced in dissolving or diffusing it 
equally throughout the mixture ; to obviate this, it should be first 
softened with a few drops of water if aqueous, or alcohol if alcoholic, 
until it has about the consistence of thick honey or treacle, and 
then incorporated with the other ingredients. Frequently this will 
require the application of heat and a long and tedious trituration, 
but it is the only way to accomplish the object thoroughly and 
effectually. 



CHAPTER XI 

FLUID EXTRACTS. 



The class extracta fluida is found for the first time in the Pharma- 
cojxxia in the edition of 1850. Most of its members had been used 
and were esteemed standard remedies for several years previous to 
that date, though two of them (the oleo resins) have not yet at- 
tained any great popularity. They are all made by displacement 
and evaporation. It is to be regretted that preparations so unlike 
should be arranged under one generic name and placed together in 
the Pharmacopoeia ; for, as their number increases, it will probably 
be found necessary, in order to prevent confusion, to separate them 
into different classes. 



OFFICINAL FLUID EXTRACTS. 167 



EXTRACTA FLUIDA, XI. S. P. 

These naturally divide themselves as follows : — 
1st Class. Concentrated syrups. 2d Glass. Concentrated prepa- 
rations containing alcohol as their antiseptic ingredient. 3c? Class. 
Oleo-resins. 

1st Class. — These all represent an equal quantity, or half an 
equal quantity, of the drug from which they are made. 

Officinal Name. Dose. Med. Prop. Adjuvants. 

Extraction Sennas fluidum f^ss Cathartic Oil of fennel and 

comp. spt. ether. 
" Rhei fluidum f 3j " Oils of anise and 

fennel, and tinct. 

of ginger. 
" Spigeliaeet sennas fluidum fgj Anthelmintic Carb. potass., oils 

of caraway and 

anise. 
" Sarsaparillae fluidum fgj Diaph. alterative (Compound.) 

The preparation of either of the above is accomplished as fol- 
lows : A tincture is first prepared by displacement with a mixture 
of one part alcohol and two of water, or of diluted alcohol ; after the 
strength is thoroughly extracted from the drug in this way, it 
is transferred to a capsule (preferably to a water bath), and evapo- 
rated to such a point as that, on the addition of sugar, it will make 
the quantity required. The proportion of sugar is made somewhat 
less than in the case of ordinary syrups, so as to prevent the pre- 
paration being too thick for convenience ; and, to make up for this 
deficiency of sugar, various antiseptics are added, as above indi- 
cated, under the head of adjuvants. 

These preparations are the most eligible of their respective 
drugs. Their dose is comparatively very small; they are freely 
miscible with aqueous liquids, though fluid extract of rhubarb forms 
a cloudy and somewhat grumous solution when diluted. By dilu- 
tion with simple syrup, the appropriate fluid extracts yield prepa- 
rations nearly resembling the officinal syrup of rhubarb, syrup of 
senna, and compound syrup of sarsaparilla, and, by dilution with 
water, the corresponding infusions. The proportion may be rea- 
dily calculated by a comparison of the officinal formulae, or by 
reference to the table given on page 169. 

2d Class.— There is but one officinal alcoholic fluid extract. 

Dose. Med. Prop. 

Extractum Valerianae fluidum fgj Antispasmodic (made with ether). 

This elegant and efficient preparation is made by first treating the 
coarsely powdered root with a mixture of alcohol and ether by dis- 
placement, and allowing the ethereal tincture thus obtained to 



168 FLUID EXTRACTS. 

evaporate spontaneously, until the dissolved oleo-resin and vale- 
rianic acid are left in solution in a small portion of the alcohol. 
While this evaporation is going on, the valerian in the displace- 
ment tube is further treated with diluted alcohol, till a definite 
quantity of tincture has passed; to this the evaporated ethereal 
tincture first prepared is now added, and the mixture allowed to 
stand, with occasional agitation, for a few hours, or till an insoluble 
blackish precipitate has ceased to be deposited. It is then filtered 
and diluted, if necessary, to exactly a pint for every eight ounces 
of valerian employed (two parts to one of the drug). In the dose 
above given, this fluid extract is a powerful preparation, far more 
efficient than the tincture in double the dose, or the powder in a 
thirty grain dose. It makes a milky solution in aqueous liquids, 
but may be mixed with syrups or mucilaginous preparations, or 
with tincture, without inconvenience from this cause. The Shaker 
fluid extract of valerian, called Brown's, appears to be a very 
strong tincture made from the fresh root, and, judging from its 
sensible properties and general popularity, it is scarcely inferior to 
the officinal fluid extract as produced from the dried imported root. 

3d Class. — The oleo-resins. There are only two officinal fluid 
extracts. 

Extractum Cubebae fluidum. Stimulant. Dose, 5 to 30 drops. 
; ' Piperis " " " 1 to 5 " 

These preparations are made by passing ether through the pow- 
dered drug in a covered displacement apparatus, and allowing this 
ethereal tincture to evaporate spontaneously. The resulting liquid 
is in each case of a more or less syrupy consistence ; of a very dark 
color — brown, with a tinge of green ; extremely pungent, and re- 
minding one of the drug. It consists of the essential oil holding in 
solution a portion of the wax and of the peculiar resinoid principle 
(in the one case cubebin, and in the other piperin). These are apt 
to be deposited in part, upon standing, a circumstance which modi- 
fies somewhat the properties of different specimens. In the instance 
of fluid extract of pepper, the piperin is directed to be separated, 
and the oil of black pepper of commerce, which is similar to the 
fluid extract, is a residuary product of the manufacture of piperin. 
Cubebs yield from 12 to 28 per cent, of oleo-resin ; black pepper 
about one-sixteenth of its weight. 

The chief mode of using these preparations is to suspend them 
in saccharine and mucilaginous solutions, or to add them to other 
ingredients in pill mass. Fluid extract of pepper is much used in 
connection with sulphate of quinia in the form of pill. Fluid extract 
of cubebs has been inclosed in gelatin capsules, similar to those of 
copaiba, so much used. 



FLUID EXTRACTS. 



169 



Table showing the Proportion of each ingredient in the Officinal Fluid 
Extracts} 



FLUID EXTRACT OF 



i 

o 
eS 

H tw 
H ° 
a> 05 

T3 fl 

• r- CD 
3 00 

Si 

O 

'fib 

<4H 


00° 

U? 

3 
© 


(D 
& 
& 
03 

w 

s 


RHUBARB. 


SENNA. 


SARSAPA- 
RILLA. 


PINK ROOT AND 

SENNA. 


s 
d 

°£ 

03 
"jS 

"30 


a 

s 


c 

'5 

o 
a 

4 


03 
a> 
oo 

< 

o 


c 
s 

O 


c3 
1=1 

a 
w. 


03 

B 
C 
03 

o 

o 

8 


c 

O 

a 
<4 

"fl 

c3 

1 
O 

4 


=3 
CO 


o3 

e8 • 
Ci- 
e3 
CO 


o 

o 

03 

o 
"5 

o 

3 

cr 

71 


00 

rs 

CO 

7J 


3 
c 

03 

2! 


O 

o 

PS 
5 


a 

C 

fl 

03 

CO 

15 


c5 

00 

00 

© 


T3 
03 

'fl 
< 

o 


[S 
© 

o 

* 


ttl or 

grs. 


480 


960 


60 


60 


60 


30 



Tb&Ze showing the Fluid Extracts as compared with the other Prepara- 
tions of the same Drugs. 



o 

fl 


CUBEBS 


RHUBARB. 


SARSAPARILLA. 


SENNA. 


VALERIAN. 














fl 

C3 
















p. 








03 












03 


C 

a 
















Bi 




















«3 








fl" 








>-3 
















3 




T3 

a 

C3 


T3 

3 

03 






3 


o 
o 

o 








T3 

3 






o 

3 


'3 


o . 


fl 




CO 


© 


-fl 


J3 

P3 




d 


£ 


33 

ft 




a 




3 

03 

CO 


3 


CD 


H 
fl 


Eh 


s 


•-7 


& 


a 

o 


3 






o 
c3 




& 


Ph 


c3 




&. 


^; 


'S 


3 


o 

S 

a 


hO 




cH 


S-l 


a 


o 


o 


C-l 


e 


a 


a 


-b 


c3 




3 


a 


3 


«*-i 


H 


a 


J? 


M 


H 


H 


H 


H 


a 


© 


© 


H 


3 


c£ 


H 


3 


H 




fgviii 


Oss 


§188 


5| 

oz 


oz. 


3 
oz. 


5ii 


3ss 


5ii 


I 

oz. 


5i 


8 
gr. 


5ii 


5? 


5ii 


lii 


5SB 


§ss 



Unofficinal Fluid Extracts. 

So numerous and important are the medicines of this class re- 
cently brought into notice that it seems necessary to devote con- 
siderable space to describing, classifying and arranging those not 
recognized in the Pharmacopoeia, in order to supply a want often 
felt and expressed by plrysicians and apothecaries who have not 
access to a full copy of the American Journal of Pharmacy, the 



1 See paper on " Fluid Extracts, 
lished in Richmond, Va. 



by Jos. Laidley, in the Stethoscope, pub- 



170 



FLUID EXTEACTS. 



work in which nearly all the formulas have been published from 
time to time. 



The following table embraces these Unofficinal Fluid Extracts. 

1st Class. — Concentrated Syrups. 
Dose. 



Ext. Cinchona, fluid | 


Jones 


f §j = Sss 




faj 


Transparent. 


(i << «t 


Taylor 


" " 




Turbid. 


" Buchu " 


Procter 


" " 


" 


See 2d class. 


" " comp'd. 


Parrish 


" " 


" 


Cont's stim. oils. 


" Hydrangea " 


Butler 
Parrish 


Qi = sxij 


fSss 


With honey. 


" Rhubarb and 

senna, fluid 


Procter 


f?; — (senna 3 vj 
*5J - jrhub.Sij 


" 


Bicarb, potassa. 


" Ergot 


Baker 


f ~ ss = 3ss 


fad 


By eth., ale, water. 


" Serpentaria " 


Savery 


foJ = 3ss 


f^ss 


See 2d class. 


2d Class. — Alcoholic Fluid Extracts. 


Ext. buchu, fluid 


Procter 


|f.3j = 5*88 


uose. 

f5J 


See 1st Class. 


" " " 


Weaver 


f|j = 5*ss 


f3J 


Made with ether. 


" Serpentaria " 


Taylor 


m = 5.1 


itl XX 


Strongest. 


" Taraxacum " 1st. 


Procter 


fgss = 3j fresh 


fgj 


Sue. tarax. parat. 


"2d. 


" 


f o v J = §j 




From fresh root. 


" 3d. 




f 5.1 = 5J dried 


" 


" dried '*■ 


.1 4th 




f3»j = S] extract 


" 


Extemporaneous 


" Gentian " 


Procter 


f 5j = 3j 


" 


Contains brandy 


" Galls _ 


Parrish 


f.fj = 5 ss 




In dentistry. 


" Lobelia " 


Procter 


f.fj =5 88 


ITL v to XX 


With acct. acid. 


" Cimicifuga " 


" ! f 5j = 5J 


nx xxx 


With ether. 


3d Class. — Oleo-Resins — prepared with Ether. 


Piperoid of ginger. Used in confectionery. 


Oleo-resin capsicum. " " 


Oil of male fern. " for tape-worm. 


" of Canada snakeroot. " in perfumery. 


" of Cardamom. " " 


" of ergot. Dose Vt[ xx. " in parturition. 


"Of J 


arsley. 


" as 


a 


diuretic. 





1st Group. — Concentrated Syrups. 
Fluid Extract of Cinchona. 

Three formulas have been contrived for making this prepara- 
tion, the results of which vary in their physical and medical 
properties. 

The first is that of M. Donovan, given in vol. xvii. p. 49, Amer. 
Journ. Pharm., and is chiefly objectionable as being complicated, 
and difficult of preparation; besides, the liquid is made from the bark 
by repeated maceration in diluted alcohol, and by decoction with 
water, subsequently concentrated by evaporation. A rare salt, 
the dinoxalate of quinia, is added, in large proportion, to in- 



FLUID EXTRACT OF CINCHONA. 171 

crease the strength of the preparation, and the whole is then form- 
ed into a very thick fluid extract, called, by Donovan, " Syrup of 
Bark." 

As far as I am aware, this has not been prepared in this country ; 
but the prevailing idea, that quinia and cinchona are not the only 
proximate principles of the cinchona barks that give them their 
antiperiodic properties, and that the natural state of combination, 
in which the various principles exist, is to be preferred in certain 
cases, has led some of our own pharmaceutists to propose formula? 
for fluid extracts of bark. 

Isaac C. Jones, a graduate of the Philadelphia College of Phar- 
macy, in his inaugural thesis, proposed a preparation to be made as 
follows : — 

Take 8 ounces of calisaya bark; exhaust it completely, by dis- 
placement with water, acidulated with muriatic acid, in quantity 
not exceeding half a fluidounce. The infusion is now to be 
evaporated to 9 fluidounces ; and, while yet hot, 14 ounces of 
sugar dissolved in it, which will bring it to measure a pint. Each 
fluidrachm of this fluid extract represents half a drachm of the 
bark, or about 1 grain of quinia. It becomes turbid on cooling, 
by the deposition of cinchonic red, which may be separated by 
straining or decanting it. The preparation will then be clear ; but 
it will be observed, it contains the quinia in the form of muriate, 
thus disturbing the natural state of combination existing in bark. 

Some pharmaceutists prepare this, and furnish it when fluid 
extract of bark is prescribed. 

Alfred B. Taylor has since communicated a formula, which was 
published in the American Journal of Pharmacy, vol. xxiii. p. 218, 
which presents the constituents of bark in an unaltered condition, 
although turbid, and less elegant in appearance than the foregoing. 
It is as follows : — 

Take 8 ounces (Troy) of calisaya bark, exhaust it completely by 
displacement with diluted alcohol ; evaporate to 9 fluidounces, 
then add 14 ounces (Troy), of sugar; continue the heat until it is 
dissolved, and strain while hot, if necessary. This makes a pint, 
each fluidrachm of which represents half a drachm of bark, or 1 
grain of quinia. 

In the process of evaporating the tincture, as first prepared, in 
the last formula, a very copious precipitate, consisting of the cin- 
chono-tannates, and cinchonic red, is thrown down, coating the 
bottom and sides of the dish or water bath. It is designed to sus- 
pend this, by the aid of the sugar, subsequently added. I have 
found an advantage in varying the process, by pouring off the con- 
centrated liquid into another vessel, and dissolving this precipitate 
in 4 fluidounces of alcohol. The sugar is now added, and be- 
comes saturated with this alcoholic solution; the 9 ounces of con- 
centrated liquid, previously poured off, being now returned, and 



172 FLUID EXTRACTS. 

heat applied. The alcohol is nearly dissipated, while the sugar is 
dissolved. The result is a very complete suspension of the insolu- 
ble portion. 

Fluid extract of cinchona is applicable to the cases in which the 
bark itself would be indicated ; its dose, as a tonic, is usually about 
a fluidracbm. It is well adapted to admixture with other tonics, 
in the liquid form. 

Fluid Extracts of Buchu. 

Preparations of buchu have been used to some extent for many 
years. More than twenty years ago, Geo. W. Carpenter, of this city, 
advertised in his "essays" "addressed to physicians," a compound 
fluid extract of buchu, prepared by a secret formula, and recom- 
mended for diseases of the urinary organs, especially " gonorrhoea or 
clap, and gleets of long standing." Of latter time, since this valuable 
drug has come to be more generally known and appreciated, our 
Pharmacopceio has recognized an officinal infusion, and that of Dublin, 
a tincture. The fluid extract may be made so as to class it with 
those now under consideration ; or may contain alcohol and thus be 
classed with those which follow. I shall proceed to give processes 
for both kinds, as also that for a compound fluid extract, which I 
have prepared for several years, and which has found favor with 
some. For the two next following recipes we are indebted to 
Prof. Procter. 

The Syrupy Fluid Extract. 

Take of Buchu leaves . . .8 ounces. 

Alcohol . . . .16 fluidounces. 
"Water . ... a sufficient quantity. 

Reduce the leaves to coarse powder, moisten them in a covered 
vessel with twelve fluidounces of the alcohol, macerate for six hours 
and introduce the whole into a suitable displacer. When the clear 
liquid has ceased to drop, add the remaining alcohol mixed with 
four fluidounces of water, gradually, until the displaced alcoholic 
liquid amounts to twelve fluidounces, which is evaporated with mod- 
erate heat to four fluidounces. The residue in the displacer is then 
treated with a pint of cold water by maceration for twelve hours, 
and subjected to pressure, until a pint of aqueous liquid is obtained. 
(Displacement is ineligible, on account of the mucilaginous charac- 
ter of the marc.) This is evaporated to eight fluidounces and mixed 
with the four fluidounces of evaporated tincture previously obtained, 
and eight ounces of sugar are dissolved in it by agitation. A pint of 
fluid extract is thus obtained from eight ounces of buchu, and a fluid 
drachm, the usual dose, represents half a drachm of the powdered 
leaves. 



FLUID EXTRACT OF BUCHU. 173 

The Hydro- Alcoholic Fluid Extract of Buchu. 

Take of Buchu leaves . . .8 ounces. 

Alcohol . . . .16 fluidounces. 
Water . . a sufficient quantity. 

Eeduce the leaves to coarse powder ; moisten them with twelve 
fluidounces of the alcohol ; macerate them for six hours, and intro- 
duce the whole into a suitable displacer ; when the clear fluid has 
ceased to pass, add the remaining alcohol, mixed with four fluid- 
ounces of water, gradually, until the displaced alcoholic liquid 
amounts to twelve fluidounces, which is set aside until reduced to 
six fluidounces by spontaneous evaporation. The residue in the 
displacer is treated with water by maceration for twelve hours, and 
subjected to pressure until a pint of aqueous liquid is obtained. This 
is evaporated to ten fluidounces, mixed with the six fluidounces of 
evaporated tincture, and after occasional agitation for several days, 
may be filtered or strained, to remove the undissolved resinous and 
gummy matter. This is of the same strength as the preceding, and 
given in the same dose. It contains a little more alcohol, and no 
sugar. 

The following recipe, by Thomas Weaver, is an improvement on 
the foregoing, producing an elegant and very strong though less 
mucilaginous preparation. It is here published for the first time : — 

Take of Buchu (finely powdered) . 8 ounces. 

Ether .... 4 fluidounces. 

Alcohol . . . .12 fluidounces. 
Diluted alcohol . . sufficient. 

Mix the ether and alcohol, and having packed the powdered 
buchu in a tall displacer, pass the mixture through it, then add 
sufficient diluted alcohol to obtain a pint of the tincture. Put the 
ethereal liquid, thus obtained, in a porcelain capsule, and allow it to 
evaporate to five fluidounces. Upon the mass in the percolator, 
pour, gradually, diluted alcohol until ten fluidounces of tincture 
have passed ; mix this with the five fluidounces before obtained, 
and dissolve in a fluidounce of alcohol the oleo-resinous matter left 
in the dish and add it to the rest, after standing in a closed bottle 
for several hours, and occasionally shaking up : filter. 

This is a dark-colored hydro-alcoholic liquid, with a tendency to 
the formation of globules of essential oil on the surface, and possessed 
in a very high degree of the characteristic odor and taste of the 
drug. 

The Compound Fluid Extract of Buchu. 

Take of Buchu in coarse powder . 12 ounces. 
Alcohol .... 3 pints. 
Water .... 6 pints, or sufficient. 



174 FLUID EXTRACTS. 

Treat the leaves by maceration and displacement, first with a 
portion of the alcohol, and then with the remainder mixed with the 
water ; evaporate the resulting liquid by a gentle heat to 8 pints, 
and to this add 

Sugar . . . . 2 1 pounds. 

Continue the heat till it is dissolved, and, after removing from 
the fire, add — 

Oil of cubebs, 

Oil of juniper, of each . one fluidrachm. 

Spirit of nitric ether . . twelve fluidounces. 

Previously mixed ; stir the whole together. 

It will be perceived that this preparation, although it contains a 
portion of sugar sufficient to impart sweetness to the taste, does 
not owe its permanence to that ingredient. The oils of cubebs 
and juniper, and the spirit of nitric ether, are not only useful as 
therapeutic agents in the majority of cases in which cubebs would 
be used, but act as antiseptics, and would render the preparation 
permanent without the presence of alcohol or sugar. 

It has been found a useful preparation, and is well adapted by 
its composition, to chronic maladies of the urino-genital organs, 
appearing to act topically in its passage through them. 

Fluid Extract of Hydrangea. 

The root of hydrangea arborescens, an indigenous plant found in 
many parts of the United States, was introduced to the notice of 
the medical profession by Dr. S. TV. Butler, of Burlington, N. J., 
through the New Jersey Medical Reporter. Dr. Butler states that 
his father, who is connected with the mission to the Cherokees, 
learned of them the merits of this plant in the treatment of gravel 
and stone, and has himself, for many years, employed it in the 
course of an extensive practice among a people peculiarly subject 
to these complaints; he considers it as a most valuable medicine, 
and possessed, perhaps, of specific properties claiming for it a trial 
at the hands of practitioners. Dr. Butler's formula is as follows: — 

Take of the Root of hydrangea . . .2 pounds. 
Water 12 pints. 

Boil to four pints, strain, and add 

Honey 2 pints. 

Boil further to two pints. 

"We have modified it thus : — 

Take of Hydrangea . . . 16 ounces 

Water .... 6 pints, or sufficient. 



FLUID EXTRACT OF RHUBARB AND SENNA. 175 

Boil the root in successive portions of water, mis them, and 
evaporate to half a pint ; mix this with 

Honey 2 pints 

and evaporate to 2 pints. In the summer season push the eva- 
poration somewhat farther, and add brandy, half a pint. 

The dose is a teaspoonful twice or three times a day. 

I have prepared fluid extract of hydrangea for several years, 
during which time I have dispensed it, under the direction of 
several practitioners, to numerous patients, and with general satis- 
factory results, in irritable conditions of the urethra, though its 
value as a specific remedy requires confirmation. 

The plant is abundant on the west banks of Schuylkill, about 
six to eight miles above Philadelphia. 

Fluid Extract of Rhubarb and Senna. 

The peculiar fitness of rhubarb and senna to be associated 
together in one cathartic preparation, so as to modify and assist 
each other, has led Prof. Procter to propose a fluid extract pre- 
pared as follows : (See Am. Journ. Pharm., vol. xxv. p. 23.) 

Take of Senna, in coarse powder . . twelve ounces. 

Ehubarb .... four ounces. 

Bicarbonate of potassa . . half ounce. 

Sugar eight ounces. 

Tincture of ginger . . a fluidounce. 

Oil of cloves .... eight minims. 

" aniseed . . . sixteen minims. 

"Water and alcohol, of each . a sufficient quantity. 

Mix the senna and rhubarb (by grinding them together in a 
convenient way), pour upon them two pints of diluted alcohol, 
allow them to macerate 24 hours, and introduce the mixture into a 
percolator, furnished below with a stopcock or cork, to regulate 
the flow. A mixture of one part of alcohol and three of water, 
should now be poured on above, so as to keep a constant, but slow 
displacement of the absorbed menstruum, until one gallon of tinc- 
ture has passed. Evaporate this in a water bath to eleven fluid- 
ounces; dissolve in it the sugar and bicarbonate of potassa, and 
after straining, add the tincture of ginger, holding the oils in solu- 
tion, and mix; when done, the whole should measure a pint. The 
object in adding the alkaline carbonate in this fluid extract, is to 
prevent the griping which is apt to result from the use of the 
senna. The aromatics contribute to the same end. In making 
this and other fluid extracts, observe precautions under head of 
evaporation. 



176 FLUID EXTRACTS. 

Fluid Extract of Ergot. 

This preparation was originally described by Jos. Laidley, of 
Richmond, Va., in a paper published in the Stethoscope, Jan. 1852, 
in which, however, the recipe for its preparation was not given in 
the usual way. Since that time, the following was published by 
T. Roberts Baker, of the same place. (See Am. Journ. Pharm., vol. 
xxvii. p. 302.) 

Take of Ergot, freshly powdered . 2 lbs. com. 
Ether, 

Alcohol (80 per cent.), 
Water, 
Simple syrup, of each . sufficient. 

1st. Displace the ergot with ether until it comes through nearly 
colorless, and evaporate spontaneously to procure the oil. 

2d. Displace with alcohol to exhaustion, and evaporate by water 
bath (or regulated heat) to a thin syrupy consistence. 

3d. Displace with water to exhaustion, and evaporate the result- 
ing liquid as fast as obtained, to guard against chemical changes. 
Then strain to separate albumen, and mix with the alcoholic ex- 
tract, continuing the evaporation to a syrupy consistence. Incor- 
porate the evaporated mixture first with the oil as obtained by the 
ether, and then with sufficient simple syrup to make up the mea- 
sure of two pints. To each fluidrachm of this add one minim of 
oil of peppermint. The dose is f 3j = 9ij of the powder. 

Fluid Extract of Serpentaria. 

The first published formula which appeared for a concentrated 
preparation of this valuable indigenous root was by John B. Savery, 
in his inaugural thesis in the American Journal of Pharmacy, vol. 
xxiii. p. 119. It is as follows: — 

Take of Virginia snakeroot, 

Sugar, in powder, of each . eight ounces. 

Water, 

Alcohol, of each ... a sufficient quantity. 

The root is to be finely ground, and after having macerated for 
a day or two in a pint of alcohol, is to be introduced into a dis- 
places, and diluted alcohol poured on it until four pints shall have 
passed. The tincture thus obtained, should be evaporated with a 
gentle heat and constant agitation, until it measures 12 fluidounces; 
the sugar is then to be dissolved, and the whole to be strained 
through flannel. This forms a clear, syrupy liquid (any resinous 
matter separated on mixing the more aqueous with the strong 
alcoholic tincture is dissolved on the addition of the sugar) ; it is 
free from the objection of containing an inconvenient quantity of 



FLUID EXTRACT OF TARAXACUM. 177 

alcohol, which pertains to the tincture, while the intense bitterness 
and powerful camphoraceous taste of the drug, are relieved by the 
presence of the sugar. 

The dose is half a fluidrachm, representing 15 grains of the root. 

Alfred B. Taylor's process, vol. xx. p. 207, Am. Journ. Pharmacy, 
yields a preparation double the strength of the above, and belong- 
ing to the second class of fluid extracts. It is as follows : — 

Take of Serpentaria, bruised . . twelve ounces. 
Alcohol, 
AVater, of each ... a sufficient quantity. 

Mix the serpentaria with 12 ounces of alcohol, and allow it to 
stand for twenty-four hours ; then transfer it to a percolator, and 
pour alcohol gradually upon it, until a pint and a half of filtered 
liquor is obtained. Place this in an evaporating dish, and allow it 
to evaporate spontaneously, until reduced to six fiuidounces. To 
the root, exhausted by alcohol, add water and displace till it is ex- 
hausted, or until about three pints have passed; evaporate this 
portion in a water bath to six fiuidounces, mix the two parts 
together and filter. Each fluidounce of this represents one ounce 
of the root. 

Dose, from 15 to 45 drops. 



Unoffichstal Fluid Extracts of the Second Class. 

Those containing alcohol as their antiseptic ingredient. 

Several fluid extracts are made indiscriminately, so as to contain 
sugar or alcohol, or sometimes both, as the antiseptic ingredient. 
The fluid extracts of buchu and serpentaria, already spoken of, and 
several to be now introduced, are instances of this kind. 

Fluid Extract of Taraxacum. (Liquor Taraxaci) 
1st Process. (By Prof. Procter, 1848.) 

Take of fresh dandelion root, collected in September or October, 
32 ounces; slice it transversely, and reduce it to a pulp by bruis- 
ing; mix this with one-sixth of its bulk of alcohol; macerate for 
24 hours; then express strongly; add a pint of water containing 
a little alcohol, and again express; evaporate the liquid to 12 
fiuidounces ; add 4 fiuidounces of alcohol, and filter. A teaspoon- 
ful of this fluid extract represents half a drachm of extract of dan- 
delion obtained from the fresh juice, which is several times the 
strength of that obtained by boiling the roots in water. 

If alcohol should be objected to, 8 ounces of sugar may replace 
it in the above, it being dissolved by agitation. 
12 



178 FLUID EXTRACTS. 

In this country, every one may obtain fresh roots of dandelion 
at the proper season, and may make the preparation but once a 
year; but where this is neglected, the carefully preserved dried 
root may be substituted, 16 ounces being equal to 32 of the fresh. 
The dried root is to be powdered coarsely, and treated with alcohol 
and water by maceration, expressed, evaporated, and finished as 
directed. 

2d Process. (By Prof. Procter, 1853.) 

Take of Fresh dandelion root . 20 pounds (com.). 

Alcohol (835°) . . . 4 pints. 

Slice the roots transversely, in short sections, and by means of a 
mill or mortar and pestle, reduce them to a pulpy mass ; then add 
the alcohol, and mix them thoroughly. The mixture thus far pre- 
pared at the season when the root is proper for collection, may be 
set aside in suitable vessels (stoneware jars are appropriate), and 
extracted as the preparation is needed through the other seasons. 
After having stood a week, or until a convenient time, the pulpy 
mass is subjected to powerful pressure, until as much as possible 
of the fluid is removed. This is then filtered and bottled for use. 
It is necessary that sufficient time should elapse after the pulp is 
set aside for the alcohol to penetrate the fibrous particles and com- 
mingle with the natural juices, as well as for the woody structure 
of the root to lose its elasticity, that it may yield the juice more 
completely on pressure. When the pulp has stood six months in 
this, it yields the juice with great readiness, and possessed of the 
sensible properties of the dandelion in a marked degree. When 
eight pounds, avoirdupois, of the root are thus treated, after standing 
several months, the practical result is about six pints of fluid with 
an ordinary screw press. This yield will vary in amount with the 
condition of the root when collected, and the length of time it is 
exposed afterwards, as well as the power of press used. Should 
the alcohol in this preparation be contraindicated, it might be par- 
tially removed by exposure in a water bath until the juice was 
reduced to five-sixths of its bulk ; then for every pint of the resi- 
due, eight officinal ounces of sugar may be dissolved in it. The 
name Succus Taraxaci Paratus has been applied to this preparation, 
which resembles the English preserved juice. 

od Process. 

Macerate four pounds of the recently dried root, in sufficient 
cold water, for 24 hours, expressing and evaporating to 36 fluid- 
ounces, to which liquid 12 fluidounces of alcohol is added ; hence 
each fluidounce of the preparation represents an ounce of the dried 
root. 

The evaporation of an aqueous solution of taraxacum is almost 
sure to have an unfavorable effect on its medical properties ; it is 



UNOFFICINAL FLUID EXTKACTS. 179 

well known that the solid extract, when prepared by the old pro- 
cess of decoction and evaporation in an exposed water bath, is 
greatly inferior to the best inspissated juice prepared in vacuo. 

Ath Process. 

The only remaining process to be noticed, is that for preparing 
the fluid from the solid extract, which is only employed where ex- 
pedition is the desideratum. The following is the formula: — 

Take of Extract of dandelion, U. S. P. four ounces. 

Alcohol one fluidounce. 

Water a sufficient quantity. 

Triturate the extract with the water and the alcohol, and apply 
a gentle heat, till it is dissolved, taking care that the product mea- 
sures just half a pint. 

These processes yield a liquid which is substantially the same in 
physical and medical properties. The usual dose is a teaspoonful. 
It is a more convenient preparation for ordinary use than the solid 
extract, which is not well adapted to the pilular form, on account 
of the largeness of its dose. 

Fluid Extract of Gentian. 

The following formula of Prof. Procter produces one of the most 
elegant of fluid extracts, 'well adapted to supersede the tincture of 
gentian, and by combination with aromatics or laxatives, to furnish 
a substitute for the different tonic tinctures given on p. 113. 

Take of Gentian, in coarse powder, sixteen ounces. 

"Water . . . . ' a sufficient quantity. 
French brandy . . six fluidounces. 

Macerate the gentian in two and a half pints of water for twelve 
hours, and having introduced it into a suitable percolator, allow 
the infusion to pass slowly, adding water at intervals, until five 
pints of liquid have passed. Evaporate this to ten fluidounces by 
means of a water bath, add the brandy, and strain through cotton 
flannel; this fluid extract may be given in doses of half a tea- 
spoonful to a teaspoonful, which represent half a drachm to a 
drachm of the root. 

" When it is desirable to associate aromatics, they may be added 
in the form of tincture, in place of a part of the brandy, or the aro- 
matics in substance may be extracted by the brandy, and the tinc- 
ture thus formed added to the evaporated solution of gentian." 

Fluid Extract of LobeMa. 

The chemical and pharmaceutical history of lobelia inflata, one 
of our most interesting and valuable indigenous plants, is connected 
with the labors of Wm. Procter, Jr., now Professor of Pharmacy in 



180 FLUID EXTRACTS. 

the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, and editor of the American 
Journal of Pharmacy. In 1837, he wrote his inaugural thesis for 
graduation in the institution, with which he is now so honorably 
connected, on lobelia. In this paper, which was published in the 
Journal (vol. ix. p. 98), he gave a full chemical history of the plant, 
and proved the existence in it of a peculiar alkaline acrid principle, 
for which he proposed the name of lobelina. 

Subsequently, in 1841, he called attention in a paper published 
in vol. xiii. p. 1, to lobelina and some other principles of the plant, 
and showed the advantage of fixing this alkaloid by the use of an 
acid, in making those preparations of lobelia requiring the applica- 
tion of heat. 

In 1812, he again appears in the Journal in an article on some 
preparations of this drug, in which the principles already ascertained 
are applied in practice. The acetous extract, vinegar and syrup, 
there introduced, have not been made officinal, but the former is 
introduced under its appropriate heading in this work. 

In 1852, the fluid extract of lobelia was proposed by Prof. Proc- 
ter, and the following formula published in vol. xxiv. p. 207 of the 
Journal: — 

Take of Lobelia (the plant), finely bruised . eight ounces. 

Acetic acid ..... one fluidounce. 

Diluted alcohol .... three pints. 

Alcohol six fluiclounces. 

Macerate the lobelia in a pint and a half of the diluted alcohol, 
previously mixed with the acetic acid, for twenty-four hours ; intro- 
duce the mixture into an earthen displacer; pour on slowly the 
remainder of the diluted alcohol, and afterwards water, until three 
pints of tincture are obtained ; evaporate this in a water bath to ten 
fluidounces; strain; add the alcohol, and, when mixed, filter through 
paper. Each teaspoonful of this preparation is equal to half a fluid- 
ounce of the tincture. The dose would vary from five drops, as a 
narcotic and expectorant, to twenty or thirty as an emetic. 

Fluid Extract of Galls. 

The following is for a preparation which has been occasionally 
used by dentists in Philadelphia ; as it may be called for in the 
course of practice, it is introduced here : — 

Take of Galls, in coarse powder . Sviij. 

Alcohol .... sufficient to make a pint. 
Extract by displacement. 
Used as a powerful astringent application. 

Fluid Extract of Cimicifuga. 

In an article on the pharmacy of cimicifuga, Prof. Procter pro- 
poses the following formula, which has been found very satisfactory 



UNOFFICINAL OLEO RESINS. 181 

both pharmaceutical^ and medically. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
vol. xxvi. p. 106.) 

Take of Black snakeroot (recently dried) . sixteen ounces. 

Ether ...... half a pint. 

Alcohol ....... one pint. 

Diluted alcohol .... a sufficient quantity. 

Powder the black snakeroot and introduce it into a displacer, 
suited to volatile liquids ; pour upon it the ether mixed with the 
strong alcohol, closing the lower orifice, so that the liquid shall 
pass by drops. When the menstruum disappears above, imme- 
diately add diluted alcohol until the filtered tincture measures a 
pint and a half; set this aside in a capsule in a warm place until it 
is reduced to half a pint, and has lost its ethereal odor ; meanwhile 
continue the percolation with diluted alcohol until two pints more 
tincture are obtained. Evaporate this in a water bath to eight fluid- 
ounces, and mix it gradually with the first product so as to avoid 
as much as possible the precipitation of the resin from the latter. 
After standing a few hours, the fluid extract should be filtered, and, 
if it does not measure a pint, add sufficient alcohol to make that 
measure. If the amount of resin precipitated is considerable, it may 
be separated by a cloth strainer, redissolved in a little alcohol, and 
added to the solution, which should then be filtered. 

As thus prepared, the fluid extract has a dark, reddish-brown 
color, like laudanum; is transparent, and possesses the bitter dis- 
agreeable taste of the root, in a marked degree. A fluidrachm re- 
presents about a drachm of the root. The dose usually given is 
from thirty to sixty drops. 



"On-officinal Fluid Extracts of the Third Class. 

Oleo Resins. 

Ginger, capsicum, filix mas, asarum Canadense, cardamom, pars- 
ley, ergot and mustard, yield more or less fluid oily extracts, on the 
evaporation of their ethereal tinctures. As these have been but little 
called for, there has been very little written about them, and I shall 
proceed to state what I have ascertained by experiment and learned 
from the limited sources at command. 

Oleo Pesin, or Piperoid of Ginger. 

Treat powdered ginger by displacement, with a mixture of one 
part of alcohol and four of ether, until nearly exhausted of its taste 
and odor ; expose this ethereal tincture to spontaneous evaporation, 
until deprived of the odor of ether. The resulting oleo-resin, is a 
dark brown, transparent, oily liquid, extremely pungent, insoluble 
in water, but soluble in ether and strong alcohol. Ginger is said 



182 FLUID EXTRACTS. 

to contain about 1 \ p. ct. vol. oil, and 3 T 8 p. ct. soft resin. The 
proportion yielded by the root, treated as above, varies with the 
commercial variety of ginger. A commercial pound of African 
ginger yielded, by this process, one and a half ounces, or 9.3 per 
cent., while the same quantity of the Jamaica variety yielded only 
one ounce — 6.2 per cent. That from the African was darker in 
color, thicker, and somewhat less pleasant than the other. One 
ounce of the piperoid added to twenty pounds of melted sugar, 
made " ginger drops" of about the usual pungency. 

Oleo Resin of Capsicum. — Capsicum is said to owe its intense fiery 
taste, and its powerful stimulating properties, to a peculiar soft resin, 
called capsicin, about four per cent, of which is said to exist in the 
fruit deprived of seeds. The preparation named above, is an impure 
form of this. It is too powerful for convenient use. 

Oil of Male Fern. — Oil of filix mas, usually extracted from the 
powdered rhizome, is used as a remedy for tape-worm. It is ex- 
tracted by ether, which is afterwards allowed to evaporate spontane- 
ously, and leaves a dark green colored oily liquid, having the odor 
of the plant. It is a favorite with the - "eclectics." 

Oil of asarum Canadense is used chiefly as a perfume ; it is also 
gratefully stimulant in small doses, being not unlike ginger in some 
of its properties. 

Oil of cardamom, prepared with ether, is an impure oily fluid, 
containing both the fixed and volatile oil of the seeds, and esteemed 
a powerful carminative stimulant; it is little known to practitioners. 

Oil of parsley is a diuretic remedy in esteem among the "eclectics." 
I have prepared it by the spontaneous evaporation of an ethereal 
tincture. It is highly charged with the odor of the plant, of which 
it is probably the chief active constituent. 

Oil of Ergot. — Under this name a brown colored, acrid, oily liquid 
is sold in the shops, which is obtained by treating powdered ergot 
with ether, or a mixture of ether and alcohol, and evaporating off the 
menstruum. Its most bulky ingredient is the peculiar bland fixed 
oil, which, according to the experiments of T. Eoberts Baker, is nearly 
isomeric with castor oil. My friend, Ambrose Smith, informs me 
that he has found oil of ergot, when made with pure ether, to become 
inconveniently thick — almost solid ; which difficulty is obviated 
by adding a portion of alcohol to the ether employed. Although 
the pure fixed oil is destitute of any of the effects of ergot, this 
preparation, owing to its other ingredients, is more or less active. 
Its dose, in cases of labor, to promote uterine contractions, is from 
20 to 50 drops. 



SIMPLE SYEUP. 183 



CHAPTER XII. 

OF SYRUPS. 

This class of pharmaceutical solutions is distinguished by con- 
taining sugar as the antiseptic ingredient. The kind of sugar 
used in the officinal preparations, is that named in the list of the 
Pharmacopoeia, saccharum, and called, commonly white, sometimes 
loaf sugar, or, as more commonly met with now, broken down or 
crushed sugar. This, as supplied to our markets by several large 
refineries, is nearly chemically pure cane sugar, and requires no 
further preparation for pharmaceutical use. It is soluble in less 
than half its weight of water; to a less extent in alcohol, and in- 
soluble in ether. It crystallizes from its solution in the form of 
oblique rhombic crystals, containing water, and called, as found in 
the shops, rock candy. 

The advantages of the use of sugar in pharmaceutical prepara- 
tions are, 1st. Its agreeable taste. 2d. The viscidity and bland- 
ness of its solution. 3d. Its conservative properties, when in 
sufficient proportion. It is chiefly objectionable in cases where, 
from want of tone in the digestive organs, it is liable to produce 
acidity of stomach, with its attendant symptoms. 

Syrups are most used as expectorants, and in the treatment of the 
diseases of children, with whom a sweet taste goes far to reconcile 
otherwise disagreeable properties of a medicine. They are, also, 
much used with other and more active medicines, as adjuvants 
and vehicles. The first of this class to be noticed, is 

Syrupus. {Simple Syrup.) 

Take of Sugar . . 2 pounds and a half. 

Water . . 1 pint. 

Dissolve the sugar in the water by the aid of heat. 

Syrup is a viscid liquid, constituted of two-thirds sugar, and one- 
third water, and having a specific gravity, when boiling hot, of 
1.261 (30° Baume"); or when cold, 1.319 (35° Baum6). It is of a 
pure sweet taste, without odor, when freshly prepared. The boil- 
ing point is fixed at 221° F. 

The proportion of sugar in syrup is a matter of primary import- 
ance, as, owing to the presence of minute quantities of nitrogenized 
principles which are apt to be accidentally present, even in simple 



184 OF SYRUPS. 

syrup, fermentation will be set up, unless the syrup has the full 
officinal proportion, which is about two parts, by weight, of sugar, 
to one of water (14,400 grs. to 7290). 

In weighing so large a quantity, precise accuracy is not necessary, 
and in practice it is found expedient to substitute two pounds com- 
mercial, for two and a half of the officinal weight, thus reducing 
the proportion slightly, but simplifying the formula, which is then, 
for simple syrup — 

Take of Sugar . . 2 lbs. (commercial). 

Water . . 1 pint. 
Dissolve by the aid of heat. 

The 2 pounds of sugar, when dissolved, are about equivalent to 
1 pint of the liquid, by measure, so that the syrup resulting from 
the above quantities, would just about measure 2 pints. It is, 
then, important to bear in mind the rule, which may be thus abbre- 
viated: Two parts of sugar are required by one part of water, and make 
two parts of syrup. 

In the absence of extraneous, and particularly of nitrogenized 
principles, a syrup will keep well enough in cold weather, without 
reference to its proportions ; but in a majority of instances of medi- 
cated syrups, it is absolutely necessary to observe the above well- 
established rule, which insures a nearly saturated saccharine so- 
lution. 

If impure or brown sugar is employed, it is necessary to boil the 
syrup until the proper specific gravity is attained ; skimming or 
straining off the scum which contains the impurities; but when 
the sugar is pure, this is unnecessary. 

If impurities are diffused in the liquid, which will not readily 
rise as scum, it is well to add a little white of egg, which, by its 
coagulating at the boiling temperature, forms a clot, inclosing the 
impurities, and facilitating their removal. A richer and more 
elegant syrup is produced by the use of Havana sugar, clarified in 
this way, than from the best refined sugar, and some of our best 
pharmaceutists use this process for their mineral water syrups, on 
account of its superior product, though so much more troublesome. 

In some of the medicated syrups, a boiling temperature is 
directed, in order that the vegetable albumen contained in the 
medicinal ingredient may be coagulated, and thus separated. In 
others, the presence in the drug, or in the menstruum employed, of 
antiseptic properties, insures the permanence of the preparation. 
Syrup of squill is an instance, in which, owing to the presence of 
the antiseptic element, acetic acid, in the menstruum, we are 
enabled to reduce the proportion of sugar somewhat below that 
necessary in other instances. Among the articles not unfrequently 
added to syrups, to prevent fermentation, the following may be 
mentioned : — 



OFFICINAL SYRUPS. 



185 



Essential oils, which, of course, greatly modify the taste and other 
properties of the preparation, as in compound syrup of sarsaparilla. 
Brandi/, which, though not officinally directed, is much used, with 
aromatics. Glycerin, which does not alter the taste or other pro- 
perties of the preparation. Hoffman's anodyne, which is one of the 
very best antiseptics, though liable to the objection of imparting 
an ethereal odor and taste. It should, however, be added, in small 
quantity only ; 1 part, by measure, to 75 of syrup, which is stated 
to be proper, seems to me unnecessarily large. One fluidrachm, 
to a pint, has generally answered the purpose. 

After these preliminary observations, the medicated syrups, classi- 
fied with reference to their mode of preparation, may be intro- 
duced. 

Syrupi, U.S. P. 
1st Class. — Infusions or Decoctions rendered permanent by Sugar. 



Officinal name. 


Preparation. 


Use. 


Dose. 


Syrupus aurantii corticis 


By maceration with 
b. water 


As an adjuvant 




" sennas 


By digestion with hot 


Laxative 


f 3j to fgij. 


(with fennel) 


water 






" krameriae 


By displacement with 


Astringent 


fgss. 


" pruni Virgini- 


cold water 


Sedative and tonic 


" 


anae 




expectorant 




" senegas 


By decoction 


Stim. expectorant 


f 3j to^ij. 


" scillae comp. 






rn,20tof3j. 



"We have, in the above class, instances of three processes. In 
the treatment of orange-peel and senna, heat is applied below the 
boiling point, so as to form hot infusions. In the case of rhatany 
and wild, cherry, cold infusions, by displacement, are directed, 
while seneka, and the mixed seneka and squill, are to be boiled in 
water, and the decoctions, after being strained and evaporated, are, 
like the others, made into syrup by the requisite addition of sugar. 

In syrup of orange-peel, the fresh rind of the sweet, or Havana 
orange, is preferred to the bitter orange-peel, prescribed in the 
various tonic preparations, this syrup being used for its flavor 
rather than for any medicinal effect. (See Orange Syrup.) 

Syrup of senna is generally superseded by fluid extract of senna, 
which is preferred, owing to the comparative smallness of its dose. 

Syrups of rhatany and of wild cherry leave nothing to be desired 
for their respective uses. The latter is one of the most popular 
and really valuable of remedies, being much used in pulmonary 
affections, connected with an atonic condition of the system. 

Syrup of seneka, and compound syrup of squill, are made either 
by the process of decoction, as above, when haste is an object, or 



* 



186 



OF SYRUPS. 



otherwise, by the use of alcohol, as in the 2d Class, now to be 
introduced. 



Class II. — Extracted with Alcohol and Water, by displacement, concen- 
trated by evaporation, and completed by the addition of Sugar. 



Officinal name. 


Proportion. 


Use. 


Dose. 


Syrupus ipecacuanhas 


5ss in Oi of the syrup 


Expectorant 


f3.jtof.5ss. 


" 


senegae (2d process) 




" 


f 3J to f 5ij. 




scillse comp. 


Squill and seneka, + 
tart, emetic, gr. j to f5 ] 




gtt.xxtof^j. 


" 


rhei 


51 in Oj of the syrup 


Laxative 


f.5sstof5iv. 


a 


sarsaparilla3 comp. 


Sarsaparilla, guaiacum, 
roses, senna, liquor- 
ice root, and oils of 


Alterative 


fSss. 






sassafras, anise, and 








partridge berry 





The simplest statement of this process for making syrups, is the 
following: Of the drug, properly powdered, make a tincture by 
displacement. Evaporate this in a capsule, to the point named in 
the Pharmacopoeia ; thus getting rid of the alcohol contained in it. 
Now add sugar, in the proportion of two parts to one of the liquid, 
and dissolve it by the aid of heat. 

Of this very important class each individual should be carefully 
studied, and in making them the officinal directions must be accu- 
rately observed. The valuable comments of the Dispensatory will 
be found to aid in estimating the comparative value of these, as of 
most other preparations adverted to in this work, but no study 
will equal the knowledge gained by actual experience, both in their 
preparation and use. 

Syrup of ipecac, as it is now generally called, although not a 
strong preparation, is one of the most useful expectorants we have, 
and in domestic practice is perhaps the most popular in Philadel- 
phia. It is particularly adapted to the treatment of the catarrhs of 
children. The dose may be so regulated as to produce a gentle 
relaxing, or, in the case of children, a powerful emetic effect, with the 
advantage of causing neither stimulating nor depressing after-effects.' 

Syrup of Seneka is the most stimulating of its class ; its use is 
indicated in chronic catarrh not accompanied by inflammatory 

1 The process for making it may be varied, according to the suggestion of Joseph 
Laidley, of Richmond, Va., as follows: Make a concentrated tincture of ipecacuanha 
with strong alcohol, and evaporate it so that two fluidounces shall represent an ounce 
of the root ; add a fluidounce of this to half a pint of simple syrup : evaporate to six 
fluidounces, and add eight fluidounces of syrup and two of water, which, when mixed, 
will constitute one pint of syrup of ipecac of the officinal strength, and less liable to fer- 
ment from containing no gum nor starch, nor ferment of any kind. I do uot recollect 
to have met with any difficulty in keeping this syrup in midsummer, when prepared 
by the officinal formula. 



OFFICINAL SYEUPS. 187 

action ; it is seldom urged so as to produce its emetic effect, except 
in combination with other remedies. 

Coxe's hive syrup (syrupus scillse compositus) has been for many 
years a very popular remedy in croup. As originally prepared, it 
contained honey, which, being by many objected to from its alleged 
liability to ferment, was changed in the Pharmacopoeia of 1840 to 
sugar, and the preparation was thus removed from mellita to 
syrupi. As now prepared, it is not popular either among physi- 
cians or pharmaceutists, the former regarding it as therapeutically, 
and the latter as pharmaceutically, objectionable. The officinal 
process for preparing it would be improved by the substitution oft 
diluted alcohol for the weak alcoholic menstruum directed in pre- 
paring the tincture in the first part of the process. The precaution 
should not be neglected in this instance, as also in syrup of senega, 
of boiling this diluted alcoholic preparation during the evaporation 
and filtering, before adding the sugar. A copious coagulation of 
the vegetable albumen takes place at the boiling temperature, the 
removal of which on the filter obviates, to a great extent, the tend- 
ency to fermentation in the resulting syrup. The solution of the 
tartar emetic in the syrup should be accomplished while it is hot, by 
trituration in a mortar, as prescribed under the head of Solution. 

In cases of croup, it is customary to increase the dose very much 
above that mentioned in the books, or to repeat it every fifteen or 
twenty minutes till the patient vomits. The dose for a child one 
year old may be ten drops, for one of two years fifteen, of three 
years twenty-five drops, and so on, repeated as above. 

Simple syrup of rhubarb is very extensively used as a mild 
cathartic for children. Its mode of preparation is precisely that 
indicated for the class ; its dose is from fsj to f 3ss for children ; 
that given in the Syllabus is adapted to adults. 

Compound syrup of sarsaparilla is manufactured in very large 
quantities by regular pharmaceutists, and, after many fluctuations, 
has an extended reputation among practitioners of medicine, as well 
as the public at large. Its chief use is in skin diseases, and in 
syphilitic and scrofulous cases, in which it is used both alone and 
combined with mercurials, iodides, &c. Its composition is similar, 
though not identical' with the fluid extract ; it contains, besides the 
soluble principles of sarsaparilla, those of guaiacum-wood, red roses, 
senna, and liquorice-root, extracted by diluted alcohol, evaporated, 
and made into a syrup, as before indicated for the syrups of this 
class. For the improvement of its flavor, and as antiseptics, the 
oils of anise, sassafras, and partridge-berry are directed to be added. 
The extensive range of diseases to which sarsaparilla is applicable, 
and the harmless character of the remedy, have made it a great 
favorite with empirics, so that there are an immense number of 
quack medicines sailing under its name, and not a few called alter- 
atives and panaceas, which contain it as one of their ingredients. 
So numerous and so generally popular were these several years 



188 



OF SYRUPS. 



ago, that the period of their greatest popularity, from 1845 to 1850, 
has been called among druggists the " sarsaparilla era." Many of 
these, as the notorious Townsend's, the chief merit of which was its 
great dilution and the large size of the bottles in which it was put 
up, have gone into disuse, while a few are yet in demand. 

It is greatly to be regretted that educated physicians should so 
frequently lend their influence to the empiric by countenancing, 
and even recommending these medicines, some of which may no 
doubt be found useful in their hands, but, besides the disadvantage 
of our being ignorant of their composition, are generally inferior to 
the officinal and other published preparations in medicinal virtues. 

Class III. — Syrups containing Acetic Acid. 

Syrupus Allii. By maceration of garlic in dil. acet. acid, sugar being after- 
wards added. Antispasmodic. Dose, fgj. 
" Scilla?. Vinegar of squill Oj + sugar Ibij. Expectorant. Dose, f^j. 

Of these, the first is but rarely used ; but the second is an ex- 
tremely common expectorant, used both by itself and in combina- 
tion with camphorated tincture of opium, tincture of digitalis, syrup 
of ipecac, and with other medicines. The presence of the acetic 
element takes from this preparation the cloying character which 
belongs to the syrups generally. 

Class IV. — Having Sinple Syrup as a base. 



Officinal Name. Preparation. 

Syrupus acidi citrici gj to Oj -+- oil of lemon n\j 

" kramerire (Second process) ext. §j to Oj 

" tnlutanus i 1'. S. 1\ L840) tinct. fgvj to Oj 

" zin^iberis _ ( U. 8. P. 1840) " fgsstoOj 

" rhei aromaticus (See page 189). 



Use. 



Adjuvant 

& vehicle 
Astringent 
Adjuvant 

Carminat'e 
ec lax'tive 



Dose. 



fsUtof.ij. 



Citric acid syrup is used as a substitute for lemon syrup, and, 
when the ingredients are of good quality and well prepared, is a 
far pleasanter article; it is much used largely diluted with water, 
in which form it is called lemonade. It is also well adapted to use 
as an excipient in extemporaneous prescription. 1 

Syrup of rhatany, which has been introduced among the first 
class, may also be made extemporaneously, as above, from the offi- 
cinal extract by dissolving it in syrup with the aid of heat. 

Ginger and Tola syrups are made, according to the last edition of 
the Pharmacojmia, by impregnating sugar with the proper propor- 
tion of the tincture, stated in the syllabus, and driving off the 
alcohol by heat, after which the sugar is dissolved in the requisite 
quantity of water. This process is troublesome, and its only 



1 See Mineral Water Syrups. 



UNCLASSIFIED SYKUPS. 189 

advantage is that the syrup thus prepared is somewhat clearer than 
that by the old process, of adding the tincture directly to hot sim- 
ple syrup, which plan I find most convenient and satisfactory for 
common purposes. 

These two syrups have been made the subject of comment by 
several pharmaceutists: first, by the late John D. Finley, in an 
inaugural thesis ; afterwards by Joseph Laidley ; and more recently 
by Professor Procter. They agree in preferring the trituration of 
a concentrated tincture with carbonate of magnesia and a small 
portion of sugar, thus making an aromatized water, which is ren- 
dered clear by filtration and converted into a syrup by the addition 
of sugar in the nsual way. The same plan is recommended for 
making syrup of orange-peel. 

Spiced syrup of rhubarb (syr. rhei aromat.) is the most familiar 
remedy for the so-called summer complaint of children, the form of 
diarrhoea, usually connected with teething, so extremely prevalent 
and fatal in our large cities during the intense heat of summer. It 
has the advantage of being a warming tonic or stomachic, as well 
as a very mild laxative, and is given in doses from a teaspoonful 
for an infant of a year old to a tablespoonful or more for older 
children and adults. The formula for its preparation, reduced so 
as to make one and a half pints of the syrup, and somewhat modi- 
fied in phraseology, is as follows : — 

Take of Rhubarb five drachms. 

Cloves and cinnamon, each . one drachm 
Nutmeg half a drachm. 

Reduce to a uniform coarse powder, pack them into a small perco- 
lator, and pour upon them gradually diluted alcohol, frequently 
repassing the first portion until half a pint of clear tincture is 
obtained ; then evaporate to four fluidounces, and add syrup (while 
hot) one and a half pints. 

An old recipe for this preparation, credited to the late Dr. James, 
and preferred in practice by my father, the late Dr. Joseph Parrish, 
and some contemporaneous practitioners, prescribes a considerable 
portion of French brandy, not to be evaporated, but retained in the 
syrup when finished. To meet this preference, the rhubarb and 
aromatics may be displaced with brandy, which may be mixed with 
a somewhat smaller proportion of syrup, the evaporation being 
dispensed with altogether. 1 

Unclassified Syetjps. 2 

Syrupus Amygdalis 1 p. bitter almonds, 3 p. sweet almonds Demulcent. 
" Limonis Lemon-juice Oj, sugar Ibij Adjuvant and 

vehicle. 
" Acacias Gum ^j, sugar ^vij, water f ^iv Excipient for 

pills. 

1 See Syrup of Blackberry Root. 2 See Fruit Syrups. 



190 OF SYRUPS. 

Almond or orgeat syrup is a most delightful preparation for use 
as a drink with water, or with carbonic acid water ; it is frequently 
modified by the addition of orange-flower water, vanilla, or other 
flavoring materials, which, however, do not improve it. It is occa- 
sionally prescribed in large doses frequently repeated in gonorrhoea. 
Its process involves, 1st, the blanching of almonds (depriving them 
of their skins by maceration in warm water, and then pressing out 
the kernel from the skin between the fingers) ; 2d, the beating of 
these into a paste with a portion of sugar ; 3d, the formation of a 
milky mixture or emulsion by trituration with successive portions 
of water ; and 4th, the solution in this of the required quantity of 
sugar, which should be done without the aid of heat. 

Lemon syrup is more acid than syrup of citric acid ; its quality 
is mainly dependent on the freshness of the lemon-juice. 

Syrup of gum Arabic, of the Pharmacopoeia, must be distin- 
guished from the French Sirop de Gomme, which, diluted with 
water, is a favorite demulcent drink. Oar syrup is a saturated 
solution of gum and sugar designed to be permanent ; it is very 
viscid, so much so as to be only fitted for suspending insoluble 
substances, and for combining unadhesive materials in pill. The 
use of well-selected gum Arabic not powdered, insures a clearer 
and more elegant syrup than can be made from the ordinary pow- 
dered gum. 

Unofficinal Syrups. 

In this division, I shall include an account of the following 
syrups, grouped according to their resemblance to the foregoing 
officinal classes: — 

Class I. — Syrups of Chamomile, Pipsissewa, Uva Ursi, the Compound Syrups 
of Blackberry Root and of Carrageen. 

Class II. — Syrups of Poppies, Frostwort, Bittersweet, and Gillenia. 

Class IV. — Syrup of Sulphate of Morphia. 

Unclassified. — Jackson's Pectoral Syrup, Syrups of Manna, Galls, Assafoe- 

tida, Williams's Sarsaparilla Syrup, and the Mineral Water and Fruit 

Syrups. 

\ 

Syrup of Chamomile. (Syrupus Anthemidis.) 

The following formula by the author was published in the Ame- 
rican Journal of Pharmacy, vol. xvi. p. 18, and although not an 
active medicinal agent, has been acceptable to some of the many 
admirers of chamomile. 

Take of Chamomile flowers, in coarse powder one ounce. 

Cold water .... twelve fluidounces. 

Eefined sugar, in coarse powder twenty ounces. 

Make an infusion by displacement of the chamomile flowers and 
water, remove the residue from the apparatus, and place the 



UNOFFICINAL SYRUPS. 191 

powdered sugar in its stead; on this, pour the infusion 
until it is entirely dissolved. 

The dose might be stated at a tablespoonful. 

Syrup of Pipsissewa. [Syrupus Chimaphilce.) 

Formula by Prof. Procter, published in Am. Journ. Pharm., vol. 
xv. p. 70. 

Take of Pipsissewa (chimaphila, U. S.) four ounces. 
Sugar ..... twelve ounces. 
Water . . . . .a sufficient quantity. 

Macerate the pipsissewa, finely bruised, in eight fluidounces of 
water for thirty-six hours, and then subject it to displacement, 
until one pint of fluid is obtained ; reduce this by evaporation to 
eight fluidounces, add the sugar, and form a syrup in the usual 
manner. 

The long preliminary maceration is rendered necessary by the 
coriaceous character of the leaves, which impedes their easy satura- 
tion by the menstruum. 

On account of this property, some have preferred boiling them 
in successive portions of water, mixing the decoctions, evaporating, 
and after the sugar has been dissolved, adding a small portion of 
alcohol to obviate the proneness to decomposition, common to 
most syrups made in this way. 

One fluidounce of this syrup represents two drachms of the 
leaves. Syrup of pipsissewa is an elegant preparation of one of 
our most valuable and abundant indigenous tonic and alterative 
medicines. Dose, a tablespoonful. 

Pipsissewa is also much used in combination with sarsaparilla, 
and other alteratives, and enters into numerous private recipes of 
that description. 

Syrup of Uva Ursi. (Syrupus TJvae, Ursi.) 

Formula by Duhamel and Procter, published in American Journal 
of Pharmacy, vol. xi. p. 196. 

Take of Bearberry leaves (Uva Ursi, U. S.) four ounces. 

Water . . . . .a sufficient quantity. 
Sugar one pound. 

To the finely bruised uva ursi, add water till it is thoroughly 
moistened, then place it in a displacement apparatus, and operate 
by percolation till it is exhausted of all its soluble active principles ; 
then evaporate to ten fluidounces ; add the sugar, and form a syrup, 
marking 31° Baume. 

The dose of this might be stated at a tablespoonful. Like the 
foregoing, this syrup is a good preparation of a valuable medicine, 



192 OF SYRUPS. 

and one much in vogue. The two may often be advantageously 
associated in diseases of the urinary organs. 

Compound Syrup of Carrageen. 

The following recipe has been in use for some 15 years in our 
establishment, and the syrup has been pretty extensively used as a 
popular cough medicine. It does not keep well in summer, unless 
in a cool place. 

Take of Horehound (Marrubium, U. S.) . 1 ounce. 

Liverwort (Hepatica, U. S) . . 6 drachms. 
Water ...... 4 pints. 

Boil for 15 minutes, express, and strain, then add 

Carrageen (Cbondrus, U. S.) . 6 drachms. 

Previously well washed with cold water. Boil again for 15 or 
20 minutes, strain through flannel, and add 

Sugar, 1 lb. commercial to each pint by measure. 

The dose of this agreeable medicine is a tablespoonful occasion- 
ally ; it is a good demulcent, without sedative effects. 

Compound Syrup of Blackberry Boot. {Syrupus Rubi Villosi.) 

This is another hitherto unpublished formula. Its object is to 
furnish a substitute for the spiced syrup of rhubarb, where that 
remedy is deficient in astringency. It has been used chiefly as a 
popular medicine in domestic practice. The astringent virtues of 
blackberry root are almost universally known, and it is much used 
in the form of decoction and syrup throughout the country, both 
as a domestic remedy and in regular medical practice. The ex- 
perience of some ten years past has proved the eligibility of this 
old-fashioned formula. 

Take of Blackberry root, well bruised 1 . 8 ounces. 
Cinnamon, 
Cloves, and 

Nutmegs, of each ... 3 drachms. 

Sugar 4 pounds. 

Water 4 pints. 

Boil the root and the aromatics in the water for one hour ; ex- 
press and strain; then add the sugar, boil to form a syrup, and 
again strain ; then add 

French brandy ... 6 fluidounces. 

Oil of cloves, and 

Oil of cinnamon, of each . 4 drops. 

1 Dewberry root (rubus trivialis), -will answer equally well. 



UNOFFICINAL STEUPS. 193 

Dose, from a teaspoonful for a child of two years old, to a table- 
spoonful for an adult, repeated till the symptoms abate. 



Unofficinal Syrups of the Second Class. 

Syrup of Frostiuort. 

Eock rose, frostwort, and frost weed, are common synonyms of 
the herb which is officinal in the secondary list of the Pharma- 
copoeia, as helianthemum, the herb of helianthemum Canadense ; but 
more familiarly known as cistus Canadensis, the name given to it 
by some botanists. 

Having for some years prepared a syrup of this plant, which was 
used with much success by my brother, the late Dr. Isaac Parrish, 
in scrofulous affections of the eyes, and also by several other prac- 
titioners in diseases of the scrofulous type, I insert the formula 
for the information of such as are disposed to make a trial of this 
valuable indigenous alterative: — 



Take of Frostwort (the herb) . . 4 ounces. 
Water, and 

Alcohol, of each ... a sufficient quantity. 

Sugar . . .»■'■'■. . 16 ounces. 

Macerate the bruised herb in eight fluidounces of diluted alcohol, 
for twenty-four hours ; displace with a mixture of one part of alco- 
hol to three of water, till the liquid comes over nearly free from 
the taste and color of the plant; then evaporate to one pint, add 
the sugar — boil for a minute or two, and strain. 

The dose of this syrup is a fluidrachm three times a day. 

Syrup of Poppies. (Syrupus Papaver.) 

This syrup, which as usually prepared is extremely liable to fer- 
ment, and on that account is a very troublesome preparation to. 
apothecaries, who often have calls for it, may be conveniently made 
by the following process of Professor Procter, so as to be per- 
manent : — 

Take of Poppy -heads . . . . 16 ounces. 
Diluted alcohol .... 4 pints. 

Sugar 30 ounces. 

Deprive the poppy -heads of their seeds ; bruise them thoroughly, 
macerate them in twice their weight of diluted alcohol for two 
days, express powerfully, add the remainder of the diluted alco- 
hol, and after twenty-four hours again express ; evaporate the liquid 
to one pint, strain, and add the sugar, and dissolve by the aid of a 
gentle heat. 

13 



194 OF SYRUPS. 

Syrup of Bittersweet. {Syrupus Dulcamara.) 

The following recipe, from the same source as the foregoing, fur- 
nishes a syrup which is adapted to use by itself, or in combination 
with those of sarsaparilla and other alteratives in cutaneous and 

rheumatic diseases : — 

Take of Bittersweet, coarsely powdered . 4 ounces. 

Water 12 ounces. 

Alcohol ..... 4 fluidounces. 

Mix the liquids, pour on the powder in a displacer until one pint 
of tincture is obtained, adding water to displace the mixed alcohol 
and water; evaporate to half a pint, add fifteen ounces of sugar, 
and make a syrup. Dose, a tablespoonful. 

Syrup of Gillenia. 

The enormous price of ipecacuanha, which has been so long sus- 
tained, has led to some inquiries, lately, for a good substitute grow- 
ing on our own soil, and always attainable. "Gillenia trifoliata," 
Indian physic, is a common indigeneous herb, the root of which has 
long been known to possess very decided nauseant and emetic pro- 
perties. It cannot be claimed for it that it very closely resembles 
ipecacuanha in therapeutical action, although sufficiently allied to 
it to be used in many cases, particularly of catarrhal affections as a 
substitute. The following syrup I have contrived with a view to 
remove one of the chief objections on the part of the physician to 
the trial of indigenous drugs, namely, the absence of suitable pre- 
parations. As far as it has yet been used, it gives promise of an- 
swering a good purpose: — 

Syrup of Gillenia. 

Take of Gillenia 3ij. 

Diluted alcohol . . . . Oj. 

Sugar ...... Bbiiss. 

Water sufficient. 

Eeduce the gillenia to coarse powder, treat it by displacement 
with diluted alcohol till Oj is obtained. Evaporate to fjvj, filter, 
and add sufficient water to make the liquid measure Oj, then add 
the sugar and dissolve by the aid of heat. 

This syrup has twice the proportion of the medicinal ingredients 
contained in syrup of ipecacuanha; it is less agreeable to the taste. 
The dose is f3j. 



unofficinal syrups. 195 

Unofficinal Syrups of the Fourth Class. 
Under this head mention may be made of 

Syrup of Sulphate of Morphia,. 

I believe there is no published recipe for this except one that is 
given in Griffith's Formulary, credited to Cadet, which prescribes 
one grain of the salt to four fluidounces of syrup. Under the head 
of syrup of poppies, in the U. S. Dispensatory, Dr. Wood suggests 
the use of a syrup made by dissolving four grains of sulphate of 
morphia in a pint of syrup (a quarter of a grain to the ounce, the 
same as Cadet's), as a substitute for syrup of poppies, which, made 
by the old recipe, is so prone to ferment. 

Notwithstanding that we have no officinal or other recognized 
recipe (that of Cadet being almost unknown in this country), phy- 
sicians frequently prescribe syrupus morphias sulphatis, and gene- 
rally, as far as I have inquired, under the impression that there is a 
syrup corresponding in strength with the officinal liquor morphias 
sulphatis, one grain to the ounce, and hence the habit has grown 
up with apothecaries of making this preparation extemporaneously 
of that strength. 

This is more remarkable, from the fact that the syrups of acetate 
and muriate of morphia of the Dublin Pharmacopoeia are in the pro- 
portion of one grain to four fluidounces. 

This discrepancy in practice cannot, I think, be remedied by the 
further publication of unauthorized recipes, and physicians should 
not fail to indicate the preportions designed in prescribing the salt 
in solution in syrup. Should there not be an officinal preparation 
with such a distinctive name, and authorized proportions as would 
remedy so serious a departure from uniformity ? 

Unclassified Unofficinal Syrups. 

Under this head, I shall treat of such of the very numerous syrups 
not already mentioned, as enjoy sufficient reputation in this city to 
be kept by our best apothecaries. 

Jackson's Pectoral Syrup. 

Alfred B. Taylor, in the American Journal of Pharmacy, vol. xxiv. 
p. 34, holds the following language: — 

" A prescription of Prof. Samuel Jackson, of Philadelphia, fami- 
liarly known as his 'pectoral syrup,' has obtained considerable 
reputation from its beneficial action in cases of coughs, colds, &c. 
We believe the prescription was originally given to Mr. E. Durand, 
but as the syrup has for some time been a standing preparation with 
many of our druggists, we have thought that a published formula 



196 OF SYRUPS. 

would be acceptable both for the purpose of giving its benefit to 
those who may not be familiar with its composition, and of promot- 
ing uniformity among those who may already be accustomed to 
prepare it. Dr. Jackson has furnished us with the following re- 
cipe : — 

R. — Sassaf. medullas .... 3j- 



3J. 
fibjf. 

gr. vnj. 
Oj, or q. s. 



Acacias .... 
Sacchari .... 
Morphias muriat. 
Aquas .... 

"The sassafras pith and gum Arabic are to be put into the water 
and allowed to stand ten or twelve hours with occasional stirring. 
The sugar is to be dissolved, cold, in the mucilage, which, after 
being strained, should be made to measure two pints by the addi- 
tion of water ; lastly, the muriate of morphia is to be dissolved in 
the syrup." 

In the recipe which I have used for a number of years, half a 
grain of sulphate of morphia is prescribed in place of a quarter of 
a grain to the ounce as in the above, and to this is added about half 
a drachm of Hoffmann's anodyne, and a drop of oil of sassafras to 
each pint. 

A recipe used by some pharmaceutists is as follows : — 

Take of Syrup of gum Arabic (diluted) . one pint. 

Muriate of morphia . . . four grains. 

Oil of sassafras .... four drops. 
Mix. 

The adult dose of this syrup is a teaspoonful. 

Syrup of Manna. (Syrupus Mannse) 

This is often directed by practitioners, without a very clear idea 
of what they are prescribing, since neither of the British pharma- 
copoeias, nor our own, contain any mention of it. The following 
recipe, taken from the Pharmacopie Universalle, I have used with 
satisfactory results : — 

Take of Flake manna ... 10 ounces. 
Water .... 12 ounces. 

Make a solution, strain and add 

Sugar .... 1 pound. 

Which dissolve by the aid of heat. 

This is an elegant laxative, where not contraindicated by debility 
of the digestive organs, and is chiefly prescribed for children and 
pregnant women. 

When extemporaneously prepared, there seems no necessity of 
adding the sugar at all, as a simple solution of manna in water is 



UNOFFICINAL SYKUPS. 197 

sufficiently agreeable, besides being stronger than the above. The 
peculiar sugar of manna is not fermentable. 

Syrup of Galls. (Syrupus Gallce.) 

This old and esteemed recipe is attributed to several eminent 
physicians of the last generation. It is used in chronic diarrhoea, 
and obstinate cases of dysentery. 

Take of Bruised galls .... Iss. 

Brandy . . . . . f^viij. 

Introduce into an f Sviij vial, digest in hot water for half an hour, 
and filter ; then pour it into a saucer, and inflame the spirit with a 
lighted taper ; add sugar oij, by melting it in the flame on a fine 
wire support, and allowing it to drop into the brandy, which must 
be stirred till it ceases to burn, and a syrup is formed. Then 
introduce it again into the flviij vial, and fill it up with water. 

Dose, a tablespoonfal. Some recipes direct that cinnamon and 
nutmeg, of each gij, shall be digested in the brandy. 

Williams's Sarsaparilla Syrup. 

This preparation has been much prescribed by Dr. J. K. Mitchell, 
who furnished the following formula: — 

Take of Compound syrup of sarsaparilla . Oj. 
Corrosive chloride of mercury . gr.ij. 

Extract of conium .... 3j. 

Triturate the corrosive chloride with a little alcohol and water, 
till dissolved, then incorporate it and the extract of conium with 
the syrup. Dose, a tablespoonfal. 

Syrup of Assafoetida. 

Eichard Peltz, while a student of the Philadelphia College of 
Pharmacy, proposed the following formula, which, with specimens 
of the syrup prepared by it, were presented to the college, at a 
pharmaceutical meeting, in the spring of 1852. The object is to 
furnish a preparation of assafoetida, free from alcoholic stimulus, 
and yet tolerably permanent. Although an old specimen of this 
syrup has a more fetid odor than a recent one, yet the change takes 
place much less rapidly, and to a less extent, than in the case of 
the milk or mixture of assafoetida, for which it may be substituted 
by the physician, when it is not convenient to prepare the former : — 

Take of Assafoetida . . . one ounce. 

Boiling water . . . one pint. 
Sugar .... two pounds. 

Bub the assafoetida with part of the boiling water, till a uniform 



198 OF SYRUPS. 

paste is made ; then gradually add the rest of the water, strain, 
and add the sugar, applying a gentle heat to dissolve it. Dose, a 
tablespoonful, containing seven grains and a half (15 grains to the 
ounce) of assafoetida. 

By adding one part of tincture of assafoetida to four parts of 
syrup, and evaporating off the alcohol, a good substitute for the 
foregoing may be prepared. 

Mineral-Water Syrups. 

These are used for flavoring mineral water, and in the manufac- 
ture of pleasant refrigerant drinks. The remarks which follow 
are, in part, compiled from an article by Ambrose Smith, in the 
American Journal of Pharmacy, vol. xxii. p. 212, and are, iu part, 
the result of my own experience in regard to their preparation 
and uses. 

As some of the subjects have already been introduced among 
the officinal syrups, the remarks which follow may be considered 
as supplementary, and are somewhat more in detail. 

Lemon Syrup. 

This is now almost universally made from citric or tartaric acid, 
oil of lemon and water, instead of lemon juice. Some of the con- 
fectioners, when they are overstocked with lemons, make them into 
syrup, but from the use of fruit that has partially spoiled, and from 
the syrup being made in such large quantities at once as to become 
more or less altered by keeping, before it is consumed, the article thus 
made is inferior to that made from acid and oil of lemon. 

Citric acid is preferable to tartaric for preparing it. The syrup 
made with the former acid has a more agreeable flavor, which it 
retains longer unimpaired. The syrup made with either acid, when 
long kept, throws down a bulky white granular deposit of grape 
sugar. Its flavor changes gradually on keeping long, even when 
made with citric acid. This is probably due to a change in the oil 
of lemon, by which the syrup acquires a terebinthinate flavor. 
This turpentine taste is very common in the lemon syrup which is 
manufactured and sold wholesale, and may frequently be due to 
the employment of impure oil of lemon. A common adulteration 
of this oil is the admixture of recently distilled oil of turpentine 
or camphene, and the adulterated oil may contain a considerable 
portion of it without its being perceptible by taste or odor while 
new, but as the camphene becomes resinous, the turpentine flavor 
is developed. But even pure oil of lemon degenerates in flavor 
and odor, when long kept, and the alteration is probably more 
rapid when it is diffused through the syrup, and assisted by the 
action of the acid ; therefore, it is better to prepare the syrup in 
small quantities, so that it will be consumed before there is any 



LEMON AND GINGEE SYRUPS. 199 

change in its quality. The following formula furnishes a pleasant 
mineral- water syrup, which can be made in a few minutes : — 

Take of Oil of lemon .... ^Ixv. 
Citric acid . . . . 3x. 

Simple syrup .... Cong. j. 
Rub the oil of lemon first with a little powdered sugar, and 
afterwards with a portion of syrup, dissolve the citric acid in an 
ounce or two of water, and mix the whole. 

The simple syrup may be made in the proportion of six com- 
mercial pounds of sugar, to half a gallon of water. This contains 
rather more acid than the officinal syrupus acidi cilrici. Some prefer 
the use of a little tartaric acid ; citric acid Ij, and tartaric acid 5ij, 
is a good proportion to the gallon. A few fresh lemon-peels 
thrown into the hot syrup is a good substitute for the oil of lemon, 
or, as suggested by G-eo. D. Coggeshall, f 3ij of saturated tincture 
of recent lemon-peel for every 4 minims of oil of lemon. 

Lemonade. 

Mix Lemon syrup . . . Oj. 

Water (iced) . . . Cong, ij, or q. s. 
Stir them well together. 

Ginger Syrup. 

The formula of the Pharmacopoeia makes a syrup of about the 
proper strength for use with mineral water. It is usually made in 
considerable quantities, and it will be found most convenient to 
prepare the simple syrup somewhat more dilute than the officinal, 
and, while it is hot, to pour on the surface the tincture of ginger, 
allowing the alcohol to evaporate before mixing with the syrup. If 
the tincture is mixed directly, the syrup will be cloudy. On the 
other hand, if it is allowed to remain too long on the surface of the 
hot syrup, before mixing, the resin separates in globules, which can- 
not afterwards be thoroughly diffused through the syrup. The 
tincture should be allowed to evaporate from the surface of the 
syrup until the vapor ceases to ignite on the approach of flame, 
then mixed immediately. The method of making ginger syrup, 
prescribed in the Pharmacopoeia, is to pour the tincture on to the 
sugar, which is to be exposed to the air until the spirit has evapo- 
rated, and then made into syrup. This plan is more operose, how- 
ever, and does not answer better than the one indicated above. 
The introduction of the whites of two or three eggs, before boiling 
and straining, makes the syrup much clearer. Some druggists 
prefer to boil ginger in water, which extracts a large amount of 
starchy matter, and makes a richer and more frothy mineral-water 
syrup. The following is the recipe : — 



200 OF SYRUPS. 

Take of Ginger, bruised 3 ounces. 

Water 2 pints. 

Boil for half an hour in a covered vessel, and strain, 

then add Sugar 4 lbs. com. 

Continue the heat till it is dissolved. 

Capsicum Syrup. 

Take of Simple syrup Oij. 

Tincture of capsicum .... f 3j. 
Proceed as for ginger syrup. 

This is a fine stimulant, which is used to advantage in mineral 
water, in intensely hot and debilitating weather, when the relaxed 
condition of the digestive organs seems to contraindicate the use 
of cold drinks. 

Sarsaparilla Syrup for Mineral Water. 

As this syrup is intended for making a pleasant beverage, it is 
made much weaker of sarsaparilla than the compound syrup of the 
Pharmacopoeia, and the senna, guaiac, &c, which enter into the com- 
position of the latter, are very properly omitted. 

The following formula is that of Ambrose Smith : — 



Take of Sarsaparilla, finely bruised, 




Liquorice root do. each . 


2 lbs. (com.) 


Sugar 


30 lbs. (com.) 


Oil of anise, wintergreen, and sassafras, 




of each 


40 drops. 


Oil of cinnamon 


5 drops. 


Water 


q. s. 



Digest the roots 12 hours, with 2 gallons of warm water, then 
put into a displacer and displace, adding sufficient water until 2 
gallons of infusion are obtained. In this dissolve the sugar with 
the aid of heat, and to the syrup when cooled add the oils, pre- 
viously rubbed up with a little sugar. 

The following formula is employed by some of the druggists of 
this city: — 

Take of Sarsaparilla, liquorice root, each . 1 lb. 

Cinnamon, sassafras, each . . 6 oz. 

Cloves, anise, coriander, each . 2 oz. 

Eed saunders, cochineal, each . 1J oz. 

Alcohol 2 pints. 

Water 2 gallons. 

Digest the above for 4 days, strain, and make a syrup with 
27 lbs. (com.) sugar. It is also frequently made by diluting the 



FRUIT SYRUPS. 



201 



compound syrup with twice its measure of simple syrup, and add- 
ing the essential oils. The fluid extract of sarsaparilla, if mezereon 
enters into its composition, does not answer, as the persistent acri- 
mony of this bark is so perceptible even in the diluted syrup as to 
make it unpalatable. 

The following is our own formula : — 



Take of Simple syrup 

Comp. syrup of sarsap. 
Caramel 

Oil of gaultheria, and 
Oil of sassafras, of each 
Mix, by shaking up in a bottle. 



Oij. 
Oij. 
f5vj. 

3 drops. 



Orgeat Syrup. 

This corresponds with the officinal syrupus amygdalae (see p. 190), 
with the addition of some more decided flavoring substance, as 
orange-flower water, bitter almond oil, or vanilla. 

Fruit Syrups. 
gallon of strawberry, raspberry, or blackberry 



To make one 
syrup :— 

Take of the fresh fruit 
Water 
Sugar (refined) 



4 quarts, 
sufficient. 
8 lbs. com. 



Express the juice and strain, then add water till it measures four 
pints, dissolve the sugar in this by the aid of heat, raise it to the 
boiling point and strain. If it is to be kept till the following sea- 
son, it should be poured while hot into dry bottles, filled to the 
neck, and securely corked. 

Fig. 159 represents the straining bag; and Figs. 160 and 161 



Fig. 159. 



Fig. 160. 



Fig. 161. 





the apparatus for straining and expressing, by means of a square 
piece of flannel or muslin. 



202 



OF SYRUPS. 



Strawberry syrup is made by first inclosing the ripe fruit in a 
strong bag — coarse linen is well adapted to the purpose — then ap- 
plying a gradual pressure by means of a screw or lever press, if 
the quantity operated upon is large; for small quantities it may be 
pressed sufficiently by hand. The juice is now diluted, if neces- 
sary, mixed with sugar, and transferred to a kettle, in which it is 
heated to the boiling point, and then strained while hot. 

Raspberry syrup is made by the same process; the juice is richer 
in pectin and more liable to glutinize than the foregoing, so that it 
bears a larger dilution; it improves the flavor of this sj'rup to use a 
small proportion of pie-cherries, or currants — say a pound to four 
quarts of the raspberries. 

Blackberry syrup does not differ from the foregoing in its mode 
of preparation, except in the usual addition of a small proportion 
of French brandy, say foj to Oj of syrup. The proportions for 
these three syrups are the same, and as they yield variable quanti- 
ties of juice, the degree of dilution may be so regulated as that every 
quart of the fruit will yield a quart of syrup. 

Blackberry brandy contains a much larger proportion of brandy 
and less sugar, with some infusion of aromatics, as cinnamon and 
cloves. 

The following recipe was furnished me by Dr. P. B. Goddard. 

Aromatic Blackberry Syrup. 

Take of Blackberry juice .... Oij. 

Sugar ft>j. 

Nutmegs, grated .... No. vj. 

Cinnamon, bruised .... oSs. 

Cloves 5ij- 

Allspice 5ij- 

Brandy ...... Oj. 

Mix and make into a syrup. 

The astringent properties of blackberry juice adapt it particu- 
larly, in combination with carminatives, to the treatment of bowel 
complaints. 



Raspberry Vinegar. 



Take of Easpberry syrup 
Acetic acid 



Oij. 
fsss. 



Mix them. 

Added to iced water according to taste, this is one of the most 
delightful of refrigerant drinks. 

The following formula, though not recommended as a substitute 
for the true fruit syrup, will be found a tolerable approximation 
to it : — 



FEUIT SYRUPS. 203 

Artificial Syrup of Raspberry. 

Take of Orris root (selected) . . . 2 oz. 

Cochineal 2 dr. 

Tartaric acid . . . . . 2 dr. 

Water 1 quart. 

Powder the orris root coarsely together with the cochineal, in- 
fuse in the water with the acid for twenty-four hours; strain, and add 
four pounds of sugar ; raise to the boiling point and again strain. 

Pineapple Syrup. 

Take of the fruit a convenient number, pare them and mash 
them without slicing in a marble or porcelain mortar, express the 
juice, and take for each quart — 

Water 1 pint. 

Sugar ...... 6 lbs. com. 

The water and sugar may be placed on the fire and heated to 
near the boiling point before adding the juice, after which, con- 
tinue the heat till the syrup boils, then remove from the fire, skim 
and strain. Preserve this as the foregoing. 

Orange Syrup. 

Take of oranges, the fresh fruit, a convenient number, grate off 
the yellow outside peel, cut the oranges and express the juice, to 
each quart of which add 

Water 1 pint. 

Sugar . . . • . . . 6 lbs. com. 

Mix the sugar with the grated peel, add the mixed water and 
juice, and apply a gentle heat till it is dissolved, then strain. 

The following new and elegant process for syrup of orange-peel 
is extracted from the Am. Journ. Pharm., vol. xxvi. p. 298. 

Take of Peel of sweet oranges, recently dried . 2 ounces. 

Carbonate of magnesia .... \ ounce. 

Sugar, in powder 2| pounds. 
Deodorized alcohol, 

Water, of each . sufficient. 

Eeduce the orange-peel to coarse powder, put it in a small glass 
percolator, and. pour deodorized (Atwood's) alcohol slowly on it 
till six fluidounces of tincture have passed ; evaporate this sponta- 
neously to two fluidounces ; triturate this with the carbonate of 
magnesia ; an ounce of sugar and half a pint of water gradually 
added ; pour this on a filter, and when it ceases to pass, add water 
till a pint of filtrate is obtained ; to this add the sugar, dissolve with 
a gentle heat, and strain if necessary. 



204 PULPS, CONSERVES, CONFECTIONS, ETC. 

If a pure and fresh article of oil of orange can be obtained, the 
syrup may be made by the following formula : — 

Take of Syrup Oij. 

Oil of orange .... in, v. 
Tartaric acid . . . . 3j- Mix. 

One dozen oranges will make one and a half to two gallons of 
syrup. 

Vanilla Syrup. 

Take of Vanilla 6 drachms. 

Boiling water 4| pints. 

Sugar 8 lbs. com. 

Reduce the vanilla to line powder by trituration with a portion 
of sugar, boil this with water two hours in a covered vessel ; then 
strain. 
Or: 

Take of Fluid ext. of vanilla . . . 3ss. 

Simple syrup Oj. Mix. 

Nectar syrup consists usually of mixtures having orgeat as their 
base; sometimes strawberry is added, and not unfrequently a little 
port wine or brandy. 

Wild cherry syrup is a popular and wholesome flavor for mineral 
water; the officinal article can hardly be improved upon. 

Cream syrups are mixtures of the fruit syrups or syrup of 
vanilla, with fresh cream. They must be made fresh every day, 
and may contain equal parts of their ingredients, or, preferably, two 
parts of the syrup to one of cream. 

Some pharmaceutists prefer to make a syrup of cream by dis- 
solving sugar in it, and flavoring this by the addition of strong 
fruit syrups. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

OF PULPS, CONSERVES, COXFECTIOXS, ELECTUARIES, PASTES, 
LOZENGES, AND CANDIES. 

Preparations having pectin, the sugar of fruits, as their basis, 
or containing medicinal substances suspended in a semi-solid form 
by the aid of honey and syrup, are variously termed as above. 
The first class to be taken up, as named in the Pharmacopoeia, is 
the following; : — 



CONFECTIONS. 205 



PlJLPiE, U. S. P. 

Pruni pulpa ... 10 parts = 12 of the fruit ; softened by steam and pressed 

through a sieve. 
Tamarindi pulpa . 7 parts = 12 of the fruit; digested with water, strained, 

and evaporated. 
Cassiae fistulse pulpa 5 parts = 12 of the fruit ; digested with water, strained 

and evaporated. 

In straining these, the chief object is to remove the seeds, skin, 
and stringy portions, and, in the case of cassia fistula, the fragments 
of pods, and to obtain a smooth, soft mass, which in small quanti- 
ties is agreeable, and, in the case of tamarind pulp, is pleasantly 
acid. These are rarely prepared, except by the manufacturers of 
confection of senna, who use them in the fabrication of that article. 



CONFECTIONES, U. S. P. i 

This class naturally subdivides- into two, which are alike in their 
properties, but quite unlike in their mode of preparation. 



1st. Conserves. 

Confectio Eosae (by an unofficinal process), 1 part to 3 sugar. 
" Aurantii corticis, U. S., 1 part (grated) to 3 sugar. 

" Amygdalas (Lond. Ph.), sweet almonds, gum, and sugar. 

By beating with powdered sugar a fresh, moist substance, as un- 
dried rose petals, or the rind of the fresh orange, or a fruit rich in 
oil, and naturally moist like the almond (which should be pre- 
viously blanched), we obtain a true conserve. The trituration 
should be continued till a smooth and uniform firm paste is pro- 
duced, which will generally be permanent if kept in a well-covered 
vessel, except in one instance, that of the almond, which will 
generally be rendered unfit for use by long keeping, and hence the 
confection has been omitted in the recent edition of the Pharma- 
copoeia. 

Confection of rose is more frequently made, according to my 
observation, by the above process, with the common hundred- 
leaved and damask rose petals, than by that of the Pharmacopoeia, 
in which the powdered red-rose petals are to be made into an 
electuary; so that Confectio Eosae, as usually met with, is not 
decidedly astringent. ■ 

Confection of orange-peel is made chiefly from the rind of the 
common sweet orange, so abundant in our market, and not from 
bitter orange-peel, as sometimes supposed by physicians. 

Confection of almonds is made from the blanched almonds, tritu- 
rated through a fine sieve, and thoroughly incorporated with the 
gum and sugar, thus forming the whole into a mass. It furnishes 
a ready mode of forming almond mixtures. 



206 PULPS, CONSERVES, CONFECTIONS, ETC. 

2d. Electuaries. 

Confectio Kosse, TT. S. P. Powd. rose 2 p., sugar 15 p., honey 3 p., rose 

water 4 p. 
Confectio Aromatica. Arom. powd. 5£, saffron J, syr. orange-peel 6, honey 2. 
Confectio Opii (lgr. in 36). Opium powd. 4J, aromat. powd. 48, honey 112. 
Confectio Senna;. P. senna and coriander, added to a syrup of liquorice-root 

and figs, to be triturated with equal parts of pulps of prunes, tamarinds, 

and purging cassia. 

All of this division of confections are made from dried and 
powdered materials, incorporated mechanically with a saccharine 
solution into mass. 

Confection of rose is used as a vehicle in the preparation of 
pills, which is almost its only use. 

Aromatic confection and confection of opium are somewhat used 
as vehicles ; the latter is prescribed in old recipes, and sometimes 
in prescriptions, as Theriaca Andronica. It enters into the compo- 
sition of a celebrate^ fever and ague mixture introduced among 
extemporaneous preparations. 

Confection of senna is a fine laxative, and, when properly pre- 
pared, is one of the most agreeable remedies of its class. When 
given in large enough quantities to purge actively, it is liable to 
disagree with the stomach when there is want of tone in that 
organ, and to become distasteful to the patient. It constitutes the 
basis of the next preparation to be noticed. 

Unofficinal Confections. 

The following recipe has been in use for many years as a remedy 
for piles, and, from the numerous cases in which it has afforded 
relief, is believed worthy a place among our unofficinal formulae : — 

Take of Supertartrate of potassa, 

Powdered jalap, 

Powdered nitrate of potassa, of each half an ounce. 

Confection of senna ... an ounce. 

Make an electuary with syrup of ginger. 
Dose, a piece the size of a marble three times a day. 

Confection of Black Pepper {Confectio Piperis). — Ward's Paste. 

The following is the recipe from the London Pharmacopoeia for 
this celebrated preparation, which is not unfrequently prescribed 
for piles ; it is said to require to be used continuously for some 
months to realize good results : — 

Reduced. 

Take of Black pepper, 

Elecampane, each . . .1 pound . |j. 

Fennel (seeds) . . .3 pounds . siij. 

Honey, 

Sugar, each .... 2 pounds . 3ij. 



JUJUBE PASTE. 207 

Rub the dry ingredients together into a very fine powder, and keep 
them in a covered vessel ; but, whenever the confection is to be 
used, add the powder gradually to the honey, and beat them until 
thoroughly incorporated. Dose, 3i to 5ii, three times a day. 

Pastes. 

Medicines having sugar and gum for their basis, of a firm yet 
flexible consistence, intermediate between confections and lozenges, 
are called Pastes. These are usually sold in sheets, or in small 
squares, each of which is of suitable size to be taken at one time 
into the mouth, and covered with powdered sugar, or, in the case 
of jujube paste, with oil, to prevent their adhering together. 

The object proposed in their preparation is the production of an 
agreeable demulcent and expectorant form of medicine ; as their 
pleasant qualities are to a great extent lost by age, they should be 
freshly prepared. 

The transparent kinds are allowed to cool and harden sponta- 
neously, while the opaque varieties are stirred and beaten as they 
cool. A few recipes for pastes are appended : — 

Jujube Paste. {Transparent Gum Paste!) 

Take of Gram Arabic . . . .6 ounces. 

Water . . . . . 8 fluidounces. 

Bruise the gum, and make it into a clear mucilage, which may be 
conveniently done by inclosing it in a bag of coarse gauze sus- 
pended near the top of a vessel of cold water; introduce the muci- 
lage into an evaporating dish, and add — 

Syrup 7 ounces (by weight). 

Evaporate to a very thick consistence, adding, towards the last — 
Orange-flower water . . .2 fluidrachms. 

Let it cool, remove the crust which will have formed on the sur- 
face, and run the paste into shallow tin pans, which lay away in a 
warm place to dry. In order to turn out the paste, some are in the 
habit of slightly greasing the cans ; but, this oil sometimes becom- 
ing rancid and giving unpleasant properties to the paste, it is sug- 
gested by Dorvault to make use of tin pans prepared by spreading 
with a rag a globule of mercury over the whole inside surface, and 
then wiping it well. The moulds need to be gone over with the 
mercury only once in eight or ten times. The French Codex 
directs the addition of a decoction of jujube; but this, which was 
the original practice, and gave name to the preparation, is now 
generally abandoned. The use of orange-flower water is generally 
substituted in this country by oil of lemon or rose, and, where the 
latter is used, a red color is imparted to the paste for the sake of 
distinction. Other flavors may be used. 



208 PULPS, CONSERVES, CONFECTIONS, ETC. 

Marshmalhw Paste. Opaque Gum Paste. Pate de Guimauve. 

Take of Gum Arabic (white), 

Sugar, of each ft»j. 

"Water sufficient. 

Orange-flower water .... f siij. 

White of eggs No. x. 

Bruise the gum, dissolve it in the water, and strain ; put the gum- 
my solution upon the fire in a deep, wide pan, add the sugar, stir- 
ring continually until it has the consistence of thick honey, care- 
fully regulating the temperature. Then beat the eggs to a froth, 
add them and the orange-flower water gradually to the paste, which 
must be constantly stirred ; continue to beat the paste until, in 
applying it with the spatula upon the back of the hand, it does not 
adhere to it, then run it out upon a slab, or into pans covered with 
starch. 

Formerly this contained marshmallow ; now it is, properly speak- 
ing, only an opaque paste of gum. 

The Iceland moss paste, so extensively advertised of latter years, 
may be closely imitated by this process, slightly varying the flavor. 
The asserted presence of Iceland moss in it improves it only in 
name. 

Carrageen Paste. {Mouchon) 

Take of Carrageen . . . . 3J. 
"Water Ovj. 

Boil the carrageen (previously soaked) first in four pints, and then 
in the remainder of the water, and mix the liquids ; to this add — 

Pure gum Arabic, 

Sugar, of each . . .8 ounces. 

Strain, evaporate to a very thick consistence, cool it, and separate 
any crust, and run it out into pans or on a slab. 

Iceland Moss Paste. {French Codex) 

Take of Iceland moss . . . . lij. 

Gum Arabic .... Jx. 

Sugar Sviij. 

"Water ..... sufficient. 

Wash the Iceland moss in boiling water, and, having rejected this 
water, boil it in an additional portion of water during an hour. 
Express and strain, add the gum and sugar, and evaporate till a 
drop does not adhere to the back of the hand ; then cool it on a 

marble slab. 



'LOZENGES. 209 



Lozenges. 



The manufacture of lozenges, as of confections, and of some syrups, 
pertains to the confectioner, in common with the r/harmaceutist, and 
is principally confined to the former ; yet the obvious eligibility of 
this form of preparation, for certain expectorant and other medi- 
cines, particularly for children, makes a knowledge of them desira- 
ble both to the physician and pharmaceutist. 

The process for preparing them is quite simple, and so well 
adapted to all insoluble, tasteless, and agreeable medicines, that we 
may with propriety resort to it for ordinary purposes in prescribing. 

The author has repeatedly made up medicines in this form ex- 
temporaneously by physician's , prescription, and with considerable 
advantage, as compared with the usual pharmaceutical forms. 

The lozenges to be described are of two classes: — 
First Glass. — Those which consist of white sugar combined with 
a medicinal substance, and made up by the addition of mucilage. 
The dry ingredients are first to be thoroughly reduced to powder 
and mixed together ; then beaten in a suitable mortar, with suffi- 
cient mucilage of tragacanth or gum Arabic to form a tenacious and 
tolerably firm mass ; this mass, being dusted with a little powdered 
sugar (not starch, which is sometimes used), is to be rolled out upon a 
suitable board, or marble slab, to the required thickness, previously 
ascertained ; and then, with a small punch, either round, oval, stel- 
late, or cordate, to suit the taste of the maker, cut out singly, and 
laid away to dry on a suitable tray or sieve. 

Fig. 162 represents a simple apparatus used for rolling and cut- 
ting this description of lozenges ; the rolling-board is adjusted as 
follows : Having a punch of a certain diameter, a small portion of 

Fig. 162. 




Board, roller/and punch, for making lozenges. 

the mass is rolled and cut out, and its weight ascertained; if it be 
too heavy, the cake is rolled thinner, and so on until adjusted to the 
required weight ; a strip is now tacked on to each side of the board, 
14 



210 PULPS, CONSERVES, CONFECTIONS, ETC. 

within the range of the roller, and corresponding in thickness with 
the cake, so that the roller, when passed over, will reduce the medi- 
cated mass to the right point. A board arranged in this way- 
should be kept for each kind of lozenges, as the weight of different 
materials varies, and, in adjusting it, a small allowance must be 
made for the moisture present in the soft mass, which increases its 
bulk. In dividing a mass extemporaneously, it is convenient to roll 
the whole out into a square or oblong cake of suitable size, and 
then, with a spatula, divide it equally into a definite number of 
square masses. 

Some manufacturers have, independently of their cutting punches, 
a stamp bearing the name of the base of the lozenge, or the card of 
the manufacturer, which they impress upon each lozenge; for white 
lozenges, the punch may be dipped in an infusion of cochineal. 
The cutting punches are sometimes so made as to combine cutting 
and marking in one operation. 

In order to have lozenges nicely cut, it is important to clean the 
cutting punch frequently by steeping it for a moment in water, then 
wiping it dry. 

In lozenges made of vegetable powders, as, for instance, those 
of ipecacuanha, the use of thick mucilage is advised to prevent the 
extractive matter from coloring the product. 

The mucilage used is nearly always made of gum tragacanth, 
but some pharmaceutists prefer that of gum Arabic, as giving them 
a more translucent appearance ; white of egg is recommended for 
the same purpose. 

The quantity of mucilage necessary to thicken substances varies 
somewhat; it is greater for lozenges which contain dry powders 
than for those made of extractive substances. It maybe remarked 
that lozenges containing a large proportion of mucilage become very 
hard by time. 

Mucilages are sometimes made with simple water, and sometimes 
with aromatic waters, or the latter are replaced by essential oils 
added directly to the mass, or to the dry powders. 

M. Garot mentions a German method which confectioners some- 
times make use of to aromatize lozenges extemporaneously after 
their desiccation. It consists in dissolving a volatile oil in ether, 
and pouring this solution upon the lozenges contained in a bottle 
with a large mouth, shaking them well, then pouring the lozenges 
upon a sieve, and instantly placing them in a stove to dispel the 
ether. This method is very convenient, as it permits the prepara- 
tion of a large quantity of inodorous lozenges, which maybe flavored 
as they are needed. 

The second class embraces those which consist of adhesive, sac- 
charine, and mucilaginous materials, softened by water and beaten 
into a mass with flavoring and medicinal ingredients, and then 
rolled into lozenges, generally of a different shape from the others. 

Although there are an immense number of lozenges in use, the 



LOZENGES. 



211 



following syllabus embraces all those recognized in the Pharma- 
copoeia: — 

Trochisci, U.S. P. 
Class I. — Each lozenge weighing 10 grains. 



Officinal Name. 



Trochisci cretae 



magnesias 
sodas bi-car. 
ipecac, 
menthae pip. 



Proportion. 



3J grs. in each 

m ;; 

i gr. " 

A "I " 



Adjuvants. 



Pow'd nutmeg 
Arrowroot 



Med. Prop. 



Antacid, astringent. 
Antacid, and laxative. 
Antacid. 
Expectorant. 
Carminative. 



Class II. — Each lozenge 



6 grains. 



Trochisci glycyrrhizae et opii 



f Opium 1 gr. in 10 lozenges | gedative< 
< Sugar, liquorice, gum Arabic, l 
and oil of anise 



f Expectorant. 



Before describing the preparation of the only officinal lozenge of 
the second class, it will be proper to introduce to view the follow- 
ing unofficinal lozenges of my own invention, for neither of which 
has any formula been heretofore printed : — 

Iron Lozenges. {Trochisci Ferri Carbonatis) 

I have prepared these for several years, and, without the stimulus 
of newspaper puffing, or the employment of any unprofessional 
means, they have grown into general favor and enjoy a wide-spread 
reputation both in and out of the profession, furnishing an an- 
swer to those who assert the necessity of illegitimate aids to the 
successful introduction of a popular remedy. The following is the 
formula : — 

Take of Subcarbonate of iron . . five ounces. 

"Vanilla one drachm, 

Sugar ten ounces, 

Mucilage of tragacanth . . q. s. 

Triturate the vanilla with a portion of the sugar into a uniform 
powder ; mix this with the remainder of the sugar in powder, and 
the carbonate of iron, then beat the whole into a mass with the 
mucilage, and divide into round lozenges, each weighing fifteen 
grains. 

Bach lozenge contains five grains of subcarbonate of iron, the 
usual dose for a child ; an adult might take two or three for a dose 
three times a day. They have been used with success in the early 
stages of chorea, in anasmia, and in cases, generally, in which this 
well-known and popular chalybeate salt would be indicated. 



212 PULPS, CONSERVES, CONFECTIONS, ETC. 

The use of carbonate of iron as an anthelmintic is worthy a more 
general trial. From experience with these lozenges, I believe they 
are better adapted to meet the popular demand for worm medi- 
cines than any of the numerous pink-root preparations sold in such 
vast quantities. 

Phosphatic Lozenges. 

Take of Phosphate of lime . . ten ounces. 

Phosphate of iron . . two ounces. 

Phosphate of soda . . six drachms. 

Phosphate of potassa . . two drachms. 

Sugar, in powder . . seventeen ounces. 
Piperoid of ginger, or 
Powdered ginger, 

Syrup of phosphoric acid, of each a sufficient quantity. 

Mix the phosphates of lime and iron, with the sugar and ginger, 
by passing through a fine sieve ; then, by the aid of heat, dissolve 
the phosphates of soda and potassa in the syrup of phosphoric acid, 
and make into a mass with the mixed powders. Roll this into a 
cake of the proper thickness, dusting it with a sifted mixture of 
one part of phosphate of iron, and eight parts of sugar, and cut 
out the lozenges, each weighing 15 grains. 

The syrup of phosphoric acid is made by dissolving one drachm 
of the glacial acid in eight fluidounces of syrup. Each lozenge 
contains five grains of phosphate of lime, one grain of phosphate 
of iron, and J grain of the mixed phosphates of soda and potassa. 
The very small proportion of the last-named ingredients is made 
necessary, in order to avoid imparting a decidedly saline taste to 
the preparation. 

The use of the phosphates, particularly phosphate of lime, has 
recently been highly recommended abroad, and adopted, to some 
extent, in this country, as supplying elements to the system 
which are exceedingly apt to be deficient, particularly among 
children, in large cities. It is asserted that this salt not only aids 
in the building up of the bony structure, when it is deficient, but 
assists in maintaining the irritability, without which assimilation 
and nutrition are always lacking. My friend, Dr. W. E. Brickell, 
now of Vicksburg, Miss., used these lozenges, with great success, 
in an asylum for friendless children, in this city, in treating the 
glandular swellings, sore heads, and other forms of scrofulous dis- 
ease prevailing among that class. He also reports a case of second- 
ary syphilis, and another of sciatica benefited by their use. 

Wistar's Cough Lozenges. 

In the second class of the foregoing syllabus, but one officinal 
preparation is placed, which is that commonly known as "Wistar's 
cough lozenges. These are known and esteemed throughout the 



wistar's and spitta's lozenges. 213 

United States, and are almost as familiar to the public at large as 
to the physician and pharmaceutist. The recipe, which originated 
with the late Professor Wistar, of the University of Pennsylvania, 
has been considerably modified by most manufacturers, although 
retained nearly in its original form in the Pharmacopoeia. In giving 
that employed in our own establishment, I may preface it by the 
remark that most pharmaceutists and physicians prefer buying them 
to attempting their preparation. The formation of a mass possess- 
ing the requisite softness and pliability, and yet firm enough to 
retain the shape given to it, is a matter of considerable difficulty, 
even with those who are somewhat accustomed to it, while those 
who are not, often waste their material, as well as their time, in the 
manipulation. This remark, however, lessens in force when the 
quantity manipulated with is small. 

Take of Powdered liquorice, 

" gum Arabic, 

" sugar, of each . five ounces. 

Oil of aniseed . . . thirty drops. 
Sulphate of morphia . . twelve grains. 
"Water, and 
Tincture of Tolu, of each a sufficient quantity. 

Dissolve the sulphate of morphia in one fluidounce of water, and 
add the oil of aniseed, with sufficient powdered gum Arabic to in- 
corporate it thoroughly. To this add one fluidounce of water, or 
a sufficient quantity ; add this, now, to the powder, and beat 
thoroughly into a mass of the proper consistence. This is to be 
divided into lozenges, each weighing six grains, and these, after 
they are dry, are to be varnished with tincture of Tolu. 

The mode of rolling and dividing these, and, consequently, their 
shape, is different from that indicated for the previous lozenges. 
After beating the ingredient into a mass, portions of 168 grains 
each are weighed out, and each of these being rolled between two 
smooth pieces of board, into a cylindrical stick, 28 inches in length, 
is laid away upon a smooth drying board, until nearly dry and 
brittle, and then cut with a sharp knife or scissors, into 24 equal 
lozenges, each about lj inch in length, and weighing 6 to 7 grains. 

The dose is one, taken occasionally. About twelve lozenges 
contain an ordinary adult dose of sulphate of morphia. Made by 
this recipe, they are less liable to constipate the bowels, and are less 
bitter to the taste than the officinal. 

Spitta's (Coryza) Lozenges. 

These are unofncinal but popular lozenges, for cold in the head, 
particularly for the painful sense of tightness and obstruction in 
the nasal fossa3. They will frequently cure sore throat and hoarse- 
ness, the cubebs they contain adapting them to these complaints by 



214 PULPS, CONSERVES, CONFECTIONS, ETC. 

its local stimulant effect. They are generally made into the same 
shape as "Wistar's, and in very much the same way, but they are 
larger, each lozenge containing 10 grains, and not so palatable. 

Take of Powdered cubebs ... 4 ounces. 

" extract of liquorice . 16 ounces. 

" gum Arabic . . 8 ounces. 

Oil of sassafras .... 40 drops. 

Syrup of Tolu .... sufficient. 

Beat the ingredients together into a uniform mass, and divide 
into lozenges of ten grains each. 

These may be taken almost ad libitum, the lozenge being allowed 
to dissolve gradually in the mouth. 

Dr. Jackson's Pectoral Lozenges. 

This formula was first published by A. B. Taylor, who obtained 
it directly from its distinguished author. It is anglicized as 
follows : — 

Take of Powdered ipecacuanha . . 10 grains. 

Precip. sulphuret of antimony . 5 grains. 
Muriate of morphia ... 6 grains. 

Powdered gum Arabic "] 

" sugar V of each 11 drachms. 

" ext. of liquorice J 

Tincture of Tolu .... 4 drachms. 

Oil of sassafras .... 4 drops. 

To be made into a stiff mass, with simple syrup, and divided into 
200 lozenges, or into lozenges of ten grains each. Each lozenge 
contains 2 ' a gr. of ipecac, fa gr. of the antimonial, ^ gr. of morphia. 
They are usually rolled into flat cakes, and cut out with a round 
punch, as described under the head of the officinal lozenges. 



Dr. Jackson's Ammonia 


Lozenges. 


of Muriate of ammonia . 


1 1- drachms. 


" morphia . 
Powdered elm bark . 


3 grains. 
6 drachms. 


" gum Arabic 
" sugar 


> of each 7 drc 


" ext. of liquorice 
Tincture of Tolu 


J 

3 drachms. 


Oil of partridgeberry 


4 drops. 



To be made with syrup into 180 lozenges, or into lozenges of ten 
grains each, containing % grain muriate of ammonia, and g 1 ^ of a 
grain of the morphia salt. 

These are used for somewhat similar affections with the foregoing, 
and are made into the same shape. 



CANDY AND DEOPS. 215 

ParrisKs Cough Lozenges. 

We have been in the habit, for the last seven or eight years, of 
preparing a pectoral lozenge not unlike that of Dr. Jackson. The 
recipe, which is as follows, was contrived with the aid of a medical 
friend, and has proved a useful one, producing a comparatively 
active preparation : — 

Take of Powdered ipecacuanha . 50 grains. 



100 grains. 
16 grains. 

of each 3 ounces. 

40 drops, 
sufficient. 



Kermes mineral 
Sulphate of morphia . 
Pow'd sugar 

" gum Arabic 

" extract of liquorice 
Oil of anise . 
Syrup of Tolu 

To be made into a mass and divided into 320 lozenges, each 
containing about \ grain of ipecacuanha, \ grain of Kermes, ^ grain 
of morphia salt. 

The dose of these, is one three times a day. 

Candy and Drops. 

Various kinds of candy are used in medicine for the well-known 
expectorant or demulcent properties of the sugar alone, or for the 
effects of such medicines as may be conveniently combined with it. 
The manufacture of these pertains almost exclusively to the confec- 
tioner, who prepares a thick semifluid mass by using with the sugar 
a small portion of water, and boiling till it is brought to such con- 
dition as that a small portion removed from the fire upon a glass 
rod will solidify into a transparent candy on cooling ; it is then 
poured out upon a marble slab. If the coloring or flavoring ingre- 
dient is in powder, as, for instance, tartaric acid used in making 
lemon drops, it is worked in with the melted candy on the slab; 
otherwise it must be added before testing its hardness and removing 
from the fire. The sheet of melted candy being smoothed upon the 
surface, if designed for secrets, a very common form, is cut partially 
through into squares, and then, when brittle, broken off; if designed 
for drops, the candy requires to be run into moulds upon a machine 
constructed for the purpose ; if for sticks, it is rolled and drawn out 
to the required thickness. 

By kneading and working this material while soft, its whiteness 
is increased. The principal art in making candies is in removing 
them from the fire at just the right moment before caramel begins 
to be formed, and not until the whole of the uncombined water is 
driven off; besides the proximate mode, with a glass rod, given 
above, the elevation of the boiling point to exactly a certain point 
is an indication that the candy is finished. 

The fruit essences, so called, prepared by artificial processes from 



216 OX DISTILLATION AND SPIRITS. 

fusel oil, have been much used of late to flavor drops. Lemon and 
ginger drops are also much in vogue ; the latter are best prepared 
from the piperoid, or oleo-resin of ginger (see p. 121), of which one 
ounce suffices for twenty of candy. 

The following recipe is appended, as of utility to the pharma- 
ceutist, who may procure the admixture of the medicinal ingre- 
dients, with candy at the confectioner's for a few cents per pound 
advance on the cost of the sugar. 

Medicated Secrets, or Cough Candy. 

To ten pounds of melted candy add the following mixture, and 
divide into secrets : — 



Take of Tincture of squill 






. fsiv. 


Camphorated tincture of 
Tincture of Tolu 


opium ) 


of each 


. fsss. 


"Wine of ipecacuanha . 






• Oj. 


Oil of gaultheria 




. 


. niviij, 


" sassafras 


. 




. "Ivj. 


" aniseed 






• "Uij. 


Used ad libitum in ordinary coughs. 







CHAPTER XIV. 

ON DISTILLATION AND SPIRITS. 

This process, the reverse of evaporation in its applications, is, 
like it, designed to separate the volatile from the fixed ingredients 
in a solution. "While in evaporation the object is to dissipate and 
reject what is volatile, preserving and retaining what is compara- 
tively fixed, in distillation the volatile ingredient is to be secured, 
and the fixed is generally discarded. To distil a solution, it is first 
converted into vapor by the application of heat, and the vapor is 
then condensed in a separate part of the apparatus. 

In a work of the design and scope of the present, any elaborate 
description of the apparatus used in distillation, and the mode of 
conducting the process on a large scale, would be quite out of 
place. The uses of the still in the manufacture of spirituous 
liquors and the spirit of turpentine of commerce, and in the recti- 
fication of these into alcohol and camphene, and in various other 
branches of manufacture, are among the most important subjects 
connected with chemical technology, and occupy a prominent place 



APPARATUS FOE DISTILLATION. 



217 



in works on that subject. In the present chapter, I shall have 
reference chiefly to the nse of distillation in Galenical pharmacy, 
referring to another part of the work an account of its application 
to some of the small chemical processes falling within the range of 
the country practitioner and pharmaceutist. The dry distillation 
of solid substances, which are unaltered by the heat employed, is 
called sublimation. In Galenical pharmacy, this is applied to the 
separation of benzoic acid; in chemistry, to the manufacture of 
calomel, corrosive sublimate, &c. When this is accomplished in 
close vessels by a degree of heat which decomposes the substances 
acted on, it is called destructive distillation, as in the manufacture of 
acetic acid. 



Apparatus for Distillation. 

Retorts are usually made of glass; they are adapted to make 
distillations sometimes without, and sometimes with, condensing 
arrangements attached. The 

plain retort, though much used Fig- 163. 

abroad, is almost superseded 
with us by the tubulated, which 
is represented in the accom- 
panying figure, Fig. 163. For- 
merly, the retort was nearly 
always connected with a re- 
ceiver, which is a glass globe 
with a wide mouth and neck, 

into Which the beak of the Tubulated retort. 

retort is inserted, either loosely 

or by the aid of a cork, or as in Fig. 164, with the use of an 

adapter. The retort here represented is of the kind called plain ; 




Fig. 164. 




Plain retort, tubulated receiver, and adapter. 

the receiver b is tubulated ; a is the adapter. The use of a vial of 
appropriate size and shape, with the bottom and rim, or lip of the 
neck, cracked off, furnishes a tolerable substitute for the adapter. 

The substance to be distilled being introduced into the retort 
and heat applied, the vapor given off passes at once into its beak 
or neck, and, if this is not refrigerated, into the receiver. In some 



218 



ON DISTILLATION AND SPIRITS. 



Fig. 165. 




dbfcj 



cases, particularly in treating very volatile liquids, it is found more 
convenient to apply cold directly to the beak, as in Fig. 165, in 
which pieces of linen or cotton cloth, folded several thicknesses and 
laid lengthwise on the beak, are kept constantly wet by the drop- 
ping of water from a filter sus- 
pended above it. At the point 
a, below the lower edge of the 
wet cotton, a piece of lampwick 
or other suitable string is tied 
tightly round the beak, to con- 
duct off the descending warmed 
water. The receiver here shown, 
though not tubulated as in the 
other plate, is quilled or drawn 
out into a fine tube, which enters 
the receiving vessel below ; this 
being fully refrigerated, insures 
the complete condensation of the 
liquid. 

When the liquid to be dis- 
tilled is condensed at a moderate 
elevation of temperature, the 
mode of refrigeration last mentioned is conducted without the use 
of a receiver, the distillate being collected directly from the beak of 
the retort, from which it drops as fast as it accumulates. Some- 
times the receiver is refrigerated, 
and not the beak of the retort, 
and this is perhaps the most 
common arrangement for retort 
distillation. It is rather roughly 
shown in Fig. 166, which repre- 
sents a plain retort, a plain receiv- 
er, and a funnel from which the 
cold water is supplied. Where 
this arrangement is adopted, 
care should be taken not to 
secure the beak of the retort 
tightly into the neck of the re- 
ceiver, in which case the expan- 
sion of the heated air and va- 
pors, on commencing the opera- 
tion, would lead to a rupture of 
some part of the apparatus. 
Fig. 167 represents a vessel of tinned iron, which I have con- 
trived as a convenient substitute for a glass retort in all operations 
in which no corrosive or acid substance enters into the liquid to be 
distilled. Near the top of a deep tin vessel is soldered on a small 
gutter, so arranged on its inside as not to reach quite up to the 



Retort with quilled receiver. 



Fig. 166. 




Distillation with plain retort and receiver. 



APPARATUS FOR DISTILLATION. 



219 



level of the sides of the vessel. The top, 5, has a rim projecting 
downwards, which sets into this gutter, as shown in the section. 
When about to use this, after charging it with the substance to be 
distilled, the little gutter is filled with water and the top fitted on. 
The water joint thus formed prevents the escape of any portion of 

Fig. 167. 




Tin retort with water joint. 

the vapor, while it is prevented from becoming empty by the 
moisture condensed on the inside of the conical top dropping into 
it as it descends. 

Fig. 168. 




Liebig's condenser. 



Fig. 168 represents a well-known form of condensing apparatus 
which has almost superseded the arrangements before figured. 



220 ON DISTILLATION AND SPIRITS. 

f 

This is constructed on a variety of patterns, and of different mate- 
rials. That represented, Fig. 168, is one I have had in use for seve- 
ral years, and prefer on several accounts to the more expensive and 
complicated kinds. It consists of a tin tube 18 inches long and 2| 
inches in diameter, and having the ends reduced to 1 1 inches to suit 
the largest size of good corks that are readily attainable. 
The funnel, a, is the upper termination of a very small 
tin tube, which, passing down the whole length of the 
apparatus, enters it near the lower extremity, where it is 
extended by a bent leaden tube, as shown by the dotted 
lines, to the very bottom, at b. A short piece of thin 
lead pipe, c, leads from near the apex of the condenser, 
and, passing out through a perforation into which it is 
soldered, terminates about two inches below, d d is a 
glass tube 1 inch in diameter, drawn out and bent at 
its lower end, which passes through the whole length of 
the apparatus, being secured by the perforated corks e e, 
at either end. These corks must be perfect, and as soft 
as can be obtained. A smooth and even perforation may 
be made by a brass cork borer, Fig. 169, or rat-tail file, 
Fig. 170, or both, so as to 
constitute a water-tight joint. Fig. 1"0- 

/ is a stout piece of sheet cop- ___ - « raB!27 _ !::ECT=2S 
per soldered on to the main 

tube, and made to work by a screw upon the wooden 
Corkborer. upright g. ' 

The use of cement or luting to surround the corks is 
necessary if they are not very perfect and very completely fitted, 
and as no alcoholic liquids will come in contact with them, dissolved 
sealing-wax is found to answer an excellent purpose. With an 
apparatus of this kind, the use of which will be described a few 
pages further on, most of the processes requiring distillation can be 
satisfactorily accomplished. The expense of a condenser, such as 
here described, is from $3 50 to $5. The bottom of the wooden 
stand should be grooved on the under side and filled in with 
melted lead, to prevent the ill effects of warping, and to give 
solidity to the whole. 

Fig. 171 represents a condenser supported on a retort stand, 
having freedom of motion in every direction ; x is a cast-iron foot, 
in which is fixed a solid rod of iron z. The condenser, as here 
represented, is designed to be made of brass, with a glass tube 
fitted into it with corks, as in the other case ; the comparative size 
of the outer tube, as here shown, is much smaller, which requires a 
much more rapid passage of the cold water through it, especially 
in distilling very volatile liquids. The Gay Lussac holder a, and 
the rings, are usually made of brass in this arrangement. 

Fig. 172 represents a Liebig's condenser and flask attachment, 
made entirely of glass, and such a one as a pharmaceutical student 



APPARATUS FOR DISTILLATION. 



221 



might readily fit up for himself; the tube for the ingress of cold 
water and the egress of the warm, here enters through the same 

Fig. 171. 




Brass Liebig's condenser in retort stand. 

corks as are perforated for the tube containing the condensing 
vapor ; this tube is continuous from the neck of the flask to the 

Fig. 172. 




Small glass condenser and flask. 



222 



OX DISTILLATION AND SPIRITS. 



other end of the apparatus. In the absence of a large glass tube 
suitable for this apparatus, which is not always to be had, a tin 
tube, as, for instance, an adhesive plaster can, with the ends taken 
off, may be substituted. 

A mechanical support for the retort and for the refrigerating 
apparatus, is, of course, absolutely necessary in the arrangement of 
a distillatory apparatus ; at least one retort stand is quite necessary, 
even in connection with the Liebig's condenser, as shown in Fig. 
171; in which case one of the rings might have a sufficiently long 
handle, connecting it with the screw that clasps the upright rod, to 
hold a retort or a flask at a sufficient distance from the condenser, 
to be adjusted to it for use ; but this is not the case with any that 
I have seen, and would render the whole apparatus unsteady when 
loaded with the liquid. 

Fig. 173. 




Retort stand for use in distillation. 

Fig. 173 will give an idea of the arrangement of the retort and 
vessel for supplying the condenser with water, and that for catch- 
ing the waste water upon one retort stand, which, however, must 
be in due proportion to the size of the condenser. 

In Fig. 165, it will be seen that as many as three retort stands 
are used in a small operation. 



APPAKATUS FOR DISTILLATION. 



223 



When put together, the apparatus for distillation will be com- 
plete as arranged in Fig. 174. The tin bucket h has a small brass 
cock, which is so regulated in using the apparatus as to drop the 
water either slowly or rapidly as the warming of the water in the 
condenser may require. 

Fig. 174. 




The only use of the funnel m, is to prevent the splashing of the 
water as it falls from the condenser. By placing the heavy receiv- 
ing vessel n on the wooden base of the retort stand, it is rendered 
solid, and the weight of the retort I is counterbalanced. 



224 



ON DISTILLATION AND SPIRITS. 



A flask with perforated cork and glass tube, as shown in Fig. 
175, may be substituted for the retorts 
Fig. 175. before described, an arrangement well 

adapted to distilling very volatile liquids, 
and those which boil with great violence. 
This figure also shows a tube for introduc- 
ing fresh portions of the liquid without 
removing the cork ; the tube, being bent, 
retains a portion of liquid in the bulb and 
adjacent curve, which prevents the escape 
of vapor from the interior. It is designed 
to extend only a little below the cork. In 
case of any stoppage in the apparatus by 
which an accumulation of vapor might take 
place in the flask or retort, these tubes 
would serve as a safety valve and the liquid 
being forced out would allow of the escape 
of the accumulated steam. 

The pharmaceutical still is the name 
given to an old-fashioned and cheap form 
of apparatus, in which the condenser is im- 

Fiask and safety tube. mediately over the heated liquid, and the 
distillate is collected by means of a ledge 
or gutter on its lower surface. 

Fig. 176 represents a section of this still, which may be made of 

Fig. 176. 





Section of pharmaceutical still. 

tinned iron, and of any required size. A is a. deep tin boiler, with 
a rim soldered round its top at a a, forming a gutter for the water 



PROCESS OF DISTILLATION. 225 

joint, by which it is connected with the dome or head B. This is 
the refrigerator, on the inner surface of which the condensation 
occurs ; G is the neck or tube for carrying off the distillate ; c c is 
a circular rim soldered on to the base of the head B in such a posi- 
tion as that the upper projection forms a gutter for conducting the 
condensed fluid as it runs down on the under surface of the cone 
d d into the neck G, while the lower part projects downward into 
the gutter a a to form the water joint. 

The course of the circular rim c c is of necessity inclined down- 
wards toward the under edge of the neck G, as indistinctly shown 
in the section, in order to determine its liquid contents in that 
direction. 

h is an opening in the top of the condenser, stopped by a cork, 
for inspecting the progress of the distillation, and adding to the 
contents of the boiler ; e is a funnel tube into which a current, of 
cold water is directed during distillation, while as it becomes warm 
it ascends and escapes by the tube on the other side. The water 
joint is to be nearly filled at the commencement of the operation, 
and effectually prevents the escape of the vapor. 

The Process of Distillation. 

From the description and illustration of apparatus now given, 
the reader will have a pretty good idea of the process as conducted 
on a small scale. A volatile liquid or mixture containing a volatile 
ingredient being introduced into a retort or flask connected as before 
described, and heat applied, the volatile ingredient will rise in 
vapor, and, being cooled by contact with the neck of the retort, the 
receiver, or the glass tube of the Liebig's condenser, will be con- 
densed, and may be collected in a liquid and generally a pure con- 
dition. 

One of the chief practical difficulties in distilling arises from the 
irregularity of the boiling of liquids in glass vessels, occasioning 
violent bumping, and sometimes the fracture of the vessel. In 
treating resinous substances in this way, and in numerous chemical 
processes, especially as in the preparation of hydrocyanic acid, 
where a large amount of heavy precipitate is present in the liquid, 
this renders the operation one of great difficulty and annoyance. 
The best remedy for this is found in the diffusion of the heat over 
the sides of the retort, and indeed over the whole surface in con- 
tact with the liquid, and in the interposition of small angular frag- 
ments of insoluble material, such as rock crystal, flint, or broken 
glass, among the particles of the liquid ; advantage is gained by cover- 
ing the bottom of the glass vessel with wire gauze, which diffuses 
the heat of the flame, or preferably by coating the retort with metallic 
silver on its inner surface, which may be done by reducing a solu- 
tion of ammonio -nitrate of silver, by boiling it in the vessel to be 
plated with oils of cinnamon and cloves, in solution in alcohol. 
15 



226 ON DISTILLATION AND SPIRITS. 

Silver forms the most eligible metallic coating, next to platinum. 
Flasks may be coated on the outside with metallic copper so as to 
answer an excellent purpose. This is done by the aid of a battery. 
{See Mohr, Kedwood, and Procter, p. 457.) 

The application of heat must of course be regulated by the vola- 
tility and inflammability of the liquid treated. Strong alcoholic or 
ethereal liquids, being volatilized at low temperatures, may be 
heated by a water bath or a sand bath, not too hot, which, besides 
preventing the excessive boiling of the liquid, will diminish the 
danger from a fracture of the glass vessel used. 

In distilling from flowers or herbs for obtaining essential oils or 
medicated waters, there is great liability to scorching, from the con- 
tact of masses of the solid material with the heated surface of the 
still, thus producing empyreumatic principles which quite destroy 
the agreeable fragrance of the product. A false bottom or perfo- 
rated diaphragm, a few inches above the point of contact with the 
flame, is a preventive of this, adopted in large operations. The 
application of carefully regulated steam heat is, of course, in this as 
in most other heat operations on a large scale, a great improvement. 

The pharmaceutical still, Fig. 176, is well adapted to recovering 
the alcohol from tinctures to be made into syrups, fluid extracts, or 
extracts ; the alcohol obtained, even though impure and below stand- 
ard strength, is suited to preparing the same tincture again; and 
the saving of alcohol by this means, in a large establishment, will 
be very considerable. The long-continued application of a pretty 
high heat, which is necessary in this case, involves an expense 
which, if gas, or even charcoal fuel is employed, may approach the 
value of the alcohol recovered, so that in the winter time it is well 
to avail ourselves of the stove used for heating the apartment by 
fitting the still to it, and distilling slowly at the moderate heat thus 
obtained. The advantage gained by the exclusion of the atmo- 
sphere in distillation is not to be overlooked when vegetable prepa- 
rations are being concentrated. The head of the still becoming full 
of steam excludes the air, for the most part, and the condensation 
of the steam brings about a partial vacuum which favors evapora- 
tion at low temperatures. 

The proper refrigeration of the condensing surface, whether of 
the retort beak, receiver, Liebig's condenser, or pharmaceutical 
still, requires pretty free use of cold water; and the application of 
this has direct relation to the degree of heat required to vaporize 
the liquid being distilled. An indication by which the operator 
may always judge when the refrigeration is insufficient, is the 
escape of uncondensed vapor. When this is observed, he should 
diminish the heat applied, and increase the application of cold to 
the condensing surface; this precaution is very important when 
the vapor is inflammable. The methods indicated in the drawings 
for the continuous application of cold water by a funnel, and by a 



DISTILLATION. 227 

small cock, near the bottom of a tin bucket, are well adapted to 
the several kinds of apparatus figured. 

The processes in Galenical pharmacy requiring the use of the 
still, are chiefly limited to those articles prepared on a large scale, 
and the apparatus is not commonly in use in retail pharmaceutical 
establishments, or in those of country practitioners ; yet, I have 
fitted a number from time to time for medical students leaving the 
school of practical pharmacy, who have found in using them, both 
for experiment and manufacture, an agreeable and profitable em- 
ployment during the tedious process of " getting into practice." 



Officinal Preparations made by Distillation. 
Aqua Destillata. {Distilled Water) 

This is directed to be used in a great many preparations in the 
Pharmacopoeia. In some, its employment seems called for, while 
in others the moderately pure river or spring water, so freely sup- 
plied in nearly all towns and cities, answers every purpose. 

The inorganic impurities imparted to spring waters by the rocks 
through which they permeate, are in the highest degree important 
in connection with solutions of delicate chemical substances, and 
the same may be said of the organic substances which contaminate 
some of the natural sources of water, and form precipitates with 
nitrate of silver, tartrate of antimony and potassa, and a few other 
very delicate chemical agents. It is, however, generally sufiicient, 
that water should be pure enough for safe and wholesome drinking, 
to be fit for use also in preparing the Galenical and even many of 
the chemical preparations. 

One of the most important uses to the apothecary and physician, 
of the apparatus for distillation here figured and described, is to 
enable him to prepare and keep at hand for special occasions, aqua 
destillata. 

Olea Destillata, U. S. 

The distilled oils are prepared by mixing the bruised herb or 
other part containing the oil with a small portion of water in a 
still, when, after macerating for a suitable length of time, and ad- 
justing the apparatus, heat is applied. The oil, though its boiling 
point is always much above that of water, is readily diffused in the 
steam; and when this is condensed in the refrigerated part of the 
apparatus, the oil, if in excess, separates, and if specifically lighter, 
collects on the surface of the distilled water ; or, if heavier, it settles 
to the bottom, and may be separated ; the mode of preparing the 
officinal aqua rosce, and other common distilled waters, corresponds 
with this, the proportion of water being so adjusted as that no-- 



228 ON DISTILLATION AND SPIEITS. 

excess of the oil beyond what is soluble in the water shall be 
present. 1 

Spiritus, U.S. 

Alcoholic solution of essential oils are usually called spirits or 
essences ; they are sometimes prepared by distilling alcohol from the 
fresh herb, which thus gives up its essential oil, and on its conden- 
sation retains it in solution ; they are also prepared by dissolving 
the oil directly in alcohol, as in the tinctura olei menthse piperitse, 
tinctura olei menthse viridis, called essence of peppermint and spear- 
mint, and tinctura camphorae, called spirits of camphor. The offi- 
cinal class spiritus consists of some which are made by distillation, 
and some which are simple solutions or mixtures of essential oils 
and alcohol. The following syllabus represents the composition 
and mode of preparation of each of the officinal class : — 

Group 1. — Made with diluted alcohol. 
Spiritus Myristicae Nutmeg ^ij to dil. ale. 1 gallon By distillation. 

" Juniperi Comp. Oils of juniper, caraway, and fennel By solution. 
" Pimentae Oil of pimenta in diluted alcohol do. 

Group 2. — Made with strong alcohol. 
Spiritus Rosmarini Oil f giv to 1 gallon alcohol Solution. 

" Lavandulae Flowers Tbij to do. Distillation. 

" " Comp. Cinnamon, ) 

Lavender Compound Cloves, I to spt. Lavender f Maceration or 
Nutmeg, j and spt. Rosemary ( displacement. 
Saunders, J 

The only preparation of this series which is much prescribed, is 
the last named. This is very often directed by practitioners as a 
flavoring and coloring ingredient in prescription. The choice of 
saunders as the coloring agent is, however, unfortunate from the 
resinous deposit which is apt to separate by dilution with water and 
long standing. Cochineal is a much brighter and handsomer color- 
ing ingredient, and the compound tincture of cardamom is, on that 
account, to be preferred to the lavender compound. 

The simple spirit of lavender prepared by distillation is one of the 
pleasantest of perfumes. That made by solution from the recipe 
given on page 280 is dependent on the freshness and fine quality of 
the oil for its value as a perfume. The cultivated or garden laven- 
der yields a much better oil than the common wild plant; the finest 
quality oil of garden lavender comes from England, and commands 
a comparatively high price. 

Essences for Perfumery. 

Besides the use of fragrant essences for the mere gratification of 
the sense of smell, they serve a good purpose in headache, and as 

1 See Chapter on Essential Oils, Camphors, and Resins. 



COLOGNE WATER. 



229 



grateful refrigerant applications in dr j and hot conditions of the skin. 
I append a few recipes for agreeable and ready spirituous perfumes. 
The art of perfumery has attained a perfection in France towards 
which our manufacturers make but a faint approximation. The 
French recipes call for so many ingredients not readily obtained in 
this country, and altogether derived from their own gardens and 
manufactories, that they require considerable modification to make 
them practicable to us. I shall, therefore, confine myself to insert- 
ing a few recipes which constitute a moderate assortment of essences, 
and which, for the most part, our own experience enables us to 
recommend. 



Cologne Water. 

Eau de Cologne, as imported from Cologne, and from Paris, is a 
highly rectified spirituous perfume obtained by distillation from a 
variety of fragrant plants. Of the numerous Farina colognes im- 
ported, all are highly rectified and apparently distilled from the 
plants, while, as prepared in this country, Cologne water is almost 
always made from essential oils dissolved in alcohol. This may be 
very good, if the oils are fresh and combined with reference to their 
relative strength and accord. 



No. 1. 



Cologne Water. 




Take of Oil of bergamot . 


. m'. 


" neroli 


• f3ij. 


" jessamine . 


. flss. 


" garden lavender 


• f5ij. 


" cinnamon . 


• fSj- 


Benzoated tincture 


. fgiij. 


Tincture of musk 


. f^ss. 


Deodorized alcohol 


• Cong.j 


Eose-water . 


. Oij. 



Mix, and allow the preparation to stand a long time before filter- 
ing for use. 



Cologne Water. 






Take of Oil of lavender . 


. Siss. 




" rosemary . 
" lemon 


. 3ss. 




" cinnamon 
Alcohol 


. gtt. XX. 

. Cong.j. 


Mix 



No. 2. 



Much cheaper than the foregoing. 



230 



ON DISTILLATION AND SPIRITS. 



Benzoated Tincture for Colognes, &c. 

Take of Tonqua beans 
Vanilla . 
Nutmegs, grated 
Mace 

Benzoic acid . 
Alcohol 



SJ. 
3ij- 

No. j. 

gr.x. 
Oj. 



Macerate the solid ingredients, in coarse powder, in the alcohol 

ad libitum. 



Essence of Millefleurs. 

Take of Peruvian balsam 
Oil of bergamot 
" cloves . 
" neroli . 
Tincture of musk 
Orange-flower water 
Alcohol (deod.) 
Mix and filter. 



3ij. 
fsss. 

f3ij. 

foSS. 

f5ij. 
fiij. 
Oij. 



Mix. 



Essence of Patchouli/. 

Take of Oil of copaiva 
" orange 
" valerian 
" rosemary . 
Tincture of Tolu 

" ginger, alcohol, aa 



gtt. xx. 
gtt. iij. 
gtt.j. 
gtt. j. 
gtt. xx. 
q. s. 



Verbena Water. 

Take of Oil of balm melisse . 
Deodorized alcohol . 
Make a solution. 



f5iij. 

Oij. 



This may be made somewhat stronger, though of a less pure ver- 
bena flavor, by the addition of a little oil of lemon. Oil of balm 
melisse is imported; its smell seems identical with our garden lemon 
trifolia. 



Lavender Water. 

Take of English oil of garden lavender . . f5ij. 
Deodorized alcohol . . . . Oj. 
Make a solution. 

A little fresh calamus root macerated in the above improves it. 



PERFUMEEY. 231 



Aromatic Vinegar. 

A pungent and reviving perfume, formerly esteemed a preventive 
of contagion. 

Take of Acetic acid, very strong, 
Camphor, in powder, 

Oil of cloves, of each a sufficient quantity. 
Mix them, and secure in a strong and well stoppered bottle. 

Tincture of Mush. 

Take of Musk 3ij. 

Water Oss. 

Macerate twenty-four hours and add — 

Solution of potassa, U.S. . . . fjij- 
Macerate twenty-four hours and add — 

Alcohol Oss. 

Let it stand, decanting as required. 

Perfume for adding to Mouth Washes. 



Take of Asarum Canadense . 

Orris root .... 
Strong alcohol (Atwood's) 


. Iss. 

. iss. 

. fSviij. 


Make a tincture and add — 




Tincture of musk 
Essence of millefleurs 
" patchouly 


• f3j- 
. f5ss. 

. gtt. XX. 


Superior Mouth Wash. 




Take of Old white Castile soap 

Alcohol 

Honey 

Perfume, as above 


. 3ij- 
. fgiij. 

. fgiv. 



Dissolve the soap in the alcohol, and add the honey and perfume. 



PART III. 

ON THE PHARMACY OF PLANTS, THEIR 
PRODUCTS, &c. 



CHAPTER I. 

LIGNIN AND ITS DERIVATIVES. 

This work is designed mainly for a class of students little versed 
in organic chemistry, and whose object is to acquaint themselves 
with the practical bearings of pharmacy rather than with its theory. 
Some will study it in connection with a course of manipulations, 
while others, perhaps, will use it as a guide in the daily routine of 
a dispensing office or shop. To all such it is adapted by an arrange- 
ment, which, without any claim to a scientific basis, is recommended 
by simplicity, and a gradual advancement from the easy to the more 
difficult manipulations. 

In abandoning for the present this arrangement of subjects, it is 
designed, in Part III., to present to view some matters which could 
not be conveniently introduced in the previous portions of the work, 
and yet are important to the student before approaching the suc- 
ceeding Chapters on Extemporaneous Pharmacy. 

Although a more scientific classification of subjects, than that 
heretofore observed, is called for in this connection, and some theo- 
retical matters will necessarily be introduced, the effort will be 
made by simplicity and plainness, to adapt it as far as possible to 
the class for which it was designed. 

The pharmaceutical classification of materia medica is primarily 
into organic and inorganic medicines. Of these, the organic will be 
brought into view in Part III. 

The study of these in their chemical relations, has, of latter 
years, become an object of great interest, and has developed the 
germs of a system of classification of plants founded on their che- 
mical composition. 

All plants are composed of a collection of organic proximate 
principles, which, when further resolved, are found to consist of 
carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen — the two latter elements frequently 



234 LIGNIN AND ITS DEKIVATIVES. 

combined in the proportion in which they exist in water ; some 
of these principles consist of carbon and hydrogen only, others con- 
tain also nitrogen, and some of these phosphorus and sulphur, the 
protein compounds. 

The predominance of one or other of these proximate principles 
in any group of animal or of vegetable products, usually adapts 
its individual members to certain modes of preparation and use in 
medicine, and constitutes the strongest feature of resemblance 
among them. This characteristic is still more marked, when asso- 
ciated, as it sometimes is, with similar botanical relations, but even 
in the absence of these, it is very apparent: thus substances which 
owe their utility to containing starch, are naturally associated as 
farinaceous, while the gums are well and familiarly classed together. 
So with the aromatics containing essential oils and resins ; the nar- 
cotics containing alkaloids, &c. 

It may be mentioned that the proximate principles of plants seem 
capable of ready division into two main classes, which, however, 
are only approximate; these are: First. Those which are nutritious, 
and are generally diffused throughout the vegetable kingdom, 
including a few obtained from animals also ; this class consists 
of lignin, starch, gums, sugar, fixed oils and fats, and the nitro- 
genized or protein compounds. Second. Those which are generally 
not nutritious, but medicinal in their properties, and are less dif- 
fused, being in some instances confined to a very few families of 
plants; these are, the crystallizable and uncrystallizable neutral 
principles, the vegetable acids and alkalies, the essential oils and 
resins, &c. 

In treating of these vegetable principles, and some of the im- 
portant drugs in which they are found, the vegetable materia 
medica will be brought into view, in a somewhat different aspect 
from that under which it is usually studied. 

As it is presumed that every student will avail himself at the 
same time of more extended and thorough treatises, I shall limit 
the facts presented mainly to those which are of importance in 
connection with the subject of practical pharmacy. 

Lignin. 

Lignin, or cellulose = C 24 H 20 O M = C ]2 II 10 O 10 . It is inert, inso- 
luble, tasteless, and inodorous ; the basis of woody fibre, and pre- 
sent in nearly all plants. By long boiling with diluted sulphuric 
acid, it is changed into dextrin, a soluble form, and then into 
grape sugar. 

Pharmaceutical manipulations are chiefly directed to get rid of 
lignin by freeing from it, by the aid of various menstrua, those 
active principles which it incloses among its fibres, excluded from 
external influences, and safely locked up in their natural reposito- 



COLLODION". 235 

ries, till needed for the relief of suffering, or the restoration of 
health. 

Lignin is officinal under the name of gossypium, cotton, which, 
in its condition of raw cotton, or carded cotton, is much used in 
surgery, and forms the basis of the singular and interesting com- 
pounds known as gun cotton, pyroxylon, and the other modifica- 
tions of prepared cotton entering into collodion and blistering 
collodion. 

Another form of lignin, which is of interest to the surgeon, is 
that of patent lint, prepared from the fibres of the flax plant (linum 
usitatissimum). 

See an article on the preparation of lint, by Jacob Bell, in the 
London Pharmaceutical Journal, and copied in the American Journal 
of Pharmacy, vol. xxiii. pp. 70 and 162. 

Collodium, IT. S. P. Ethereal Solution of Prepared Cotton. 

This preparation, originally prepared by Prof. Schonbein, was 
recommended as an adhesive substance adapted to the wants of the 
surgeon, in an article in the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, 
under date of March 22, 1848, by S. L. Bigelow. He then stated 
that he had accidentally discovered its remarkable adaptation to 
the rapid union of wounds by the first intention, and had tested its 
efficacy by a number of experiments, which induced him to make 
it public. The next number of the same journal, issued one week 
later, contained an article on the same subject, by Jno. P. Maynard, 
of Dedham, Mass., in which he claims to have been the first to use 
the preparation as an adhesive plaster, and proceeds to detail its 
advantages, as proved by a number of experiments made by him- 
self, and by numerous physicians and surgeons in Boston. In the 
same number of the Journal, appears an editorial notice, which 
recommends the collodion, as it is there named, in terms of ap- 
proval, and in relation to its adhesiveness, says: "Nothing known 
to us will compare with it in this respect." Of its mode of prepa- 
ration, both these writers left us in the dark, although, as soon as a 
demand was thus created for the article, perhaps before, Dr. May- 
nard's formula for preparing it was placed in the hands of Maynard 
& Noyes, druggists, Boston, who commenced the manufacture of it 
on a large scale, and measures wero taken to introduce it through- 
out the United States. 

On the first introduction of Maynard and Noyes' article in 
Philadelphia, my lamented friend, W. W. D. Livermore, then an 
assistant in my store, and myself, jointly pursued a series of expe- 
riments in its preparation, the result of which we announced in a 
paper published in the American Journal of Pharmacy, vol. xx. p. 
181, stating the best formula that we had tried for the preparation 
of this solution. It prescribed the mixing of equal portions of nitric 
and sulphuric acids, and the maceration in it of clean bleached 



236 LIGNIN AND ITS DERIVATIVES. 

cotton for twelve hours. The proper strength of the nitric acid 
was then known to be a matter of importance, the acid of 1.5 sp. 
gr. furnishiug the most satisfactory results. 

This cotton, after washing and thorough drying, was to be dis- 
solved in a certain proportion of ether, free, or nearly free, from 
water. 

The recipe was accompanied by such practical suggestions as 
our experiments led to, which were offered rather to draw attention 
to this then new and interesting preparation, than to furnish an un- 
exceptionable formula. 

Although some of the views advanced in that paper were after- 
wards abandoned, this recipe, with some modifications, has con- 
tinued to give us satisfaction to this time. 

In the following year, an article appeared in the same journal, 
extracted from the London Medical Gazette, in which the following 
formula of M. Mialhe was offered as more uniformly satisfactory. 

Take of Finely powdered nitrate of potash 40 parts (by weight). 
Sulphuric acid 60 " " 

Carded cotton ... 2 " " 

Mix the nitre with the sulphuric acid, in a porcelain vessel, theu 
add the cotton, and agitate the mass for three minutes, by the aid 
of two glass rods; wash the cotton, without first pressing it, in a 
large quantity of water, and, when all the acidity is removed (in- 
dicated by litmus-paper), press it firmly in a cloth ; pull it out into 
a loose mass, and dry it in a stove at a moderate heat. 

The compound thus obtained, says M. Malgaigne, is not pure 
fulminating cotton; it always retains a small quantity of sulphuric 
acid, is less inflammable than gun-cotton, and it leaves a carbona- 
ceous residue after explosion. It has, however, in a remarkable 
degree, the property of solubility in ether, especially when mixed 
with a little alcohol, and it forms therewith a very adhesive solu- 
tion, to which the name of collodion has been applied. 

The proportions of ether and prepared cotton directed for the 
preparation of collodion in this recipe, were, I think inadvertently 
wrong. 

In the same periodical, shortly after, appeared a notice from the 
London Pharmaceutical Journal, by J. B. Edwards, upon the modes 
of preparing collodion, in which he quotes M. Salmon, surgeon to 
Hotel Dieu, of Chartres, who asserts that collodion may be easily 
prepared by dissolving gun-cotton, made with the mixed acids, in 
sulphuric ether, which mode he had always preferred, as less liable 
to variation from the inconstancy of the product than that of M. 
Mialhe ; in the same paper, M. Soubeiran is quoted as follows : — 

" I, like many others, have attempted to operate with a mixture 
of the monohydrated, nitric, and sulphuric acids. I have employed 
them sometimes with equal weights, at other times with equal 
volumes, and immersed the cotton for different periods from three 



PEEPAEATION OF COLLODION. 237 

minutes to an hour, and I have never found it to dissolve in ether. 
I do not, however, contend that it is impossible to do so, but I 
must think the other a more certain method, though the employ- 
ment of the mixed acids has the advantage of convenience over the 
other." 

There can be little doubt that one or both of the acids used in 
these experiments were deficient in strength, as the experience of 
some other pharmaceutists is directly the reverse of that of this 
distinguished French authority. I quote from J. B. Edwards, the 
author of the paper referred to : — 

"My own experience coincides with that of Mr. Salmon. I 
take equal volumes of strong sulphuric, and strong fuming nitric 
acids, mix them in a mortar or other convenient vessel, then im- 
merse finely carded cotton in small portions, allowing each to 
remain about one minute; then plunging it into a large quantity 
of water, and teasing it out with a glass rod, so as to become as 
loose as possible, yellow fumes arise from the cotton, and are 
washed away, and it is then perfectly white. This is then well 
washed from acid and dried, and it then instantly and perfectly 
dissolves in commercial sulphuric ether, forming either a semi-solid 
jelly, or thick liquid, according to the quantity of ether added. 
This is the constant and uniform result of several experiments I 
have made. This cotton is also highly explosive, and leaves no 
carbonaceous residue when fired. 

"The sources of fallacy I imagine are either from employing 
weak acids, too long immersion, or ether of high rectification. The 
latter should not contain water, but sufficient alcohol to reduce its 
specific gravity to about 760° or 770°. Its solvent action is then 
instantaneous." 

Although this result is sometimes attained, it perhaps as often 
happens that the solution of the cotton is not so rapid as is here 
represented ; and it has often happened that, when it seemed at 
first quite deficient, it has, upon standing, become sufficiently 
thick. 

In continuation of his comments, the same writer observes: — 

"I consider this process to be superior on many accounts to that 
of Mialhe. It is more readily prepared, and requires less washing 
than when entangled with sulphate of potash. It is explosive, and 
therefore answers both purposes. I have dissolved some with 
equal readiness, that has been thus prepared more than a month, 
so that it may be convenient to keep the cotton prepared, and dis- 
solve small quantities as frequently as required, and thus obviate 
the loss by vaporization, which ensues on keeping a stock of the 
solution prepared." 

In the fourth number of the Journal, for 1849, I published the 
•result of further experiments, upon the new adhesive solution, 
from which I copy the following modified formula, which is recom- 
mended over that of Mialhe, as allowing the preparation of a much 



238 LIGNIN AND ITS DERIVATIVES. 

larger quantity at one time, and with far less trouble ; as avoiding 
the exposure of the operator to corrosive acid fumes, while stirring 
the cotton with the semi-fluid mass, which, in the other case, makes 
it necessary to work either in a well- ventilated apartment, or in 
the open air; and as facilitating the washing of the product, which 
comes out from the mixed acids with no solid crystalline ingre- 
dient contaminating it, and may be purified with the utmost 
facility; for distinction, this may be marked — 

Recipe No. 1. 

Take of Fuming nitric acid, sp. gr. 1.48, 

Sulphuric acid, of each . . four fluidounces. 

Cleansed and bleached cotton . half an ounce. 

Ether four pints. 

Thoroughly saturate the cotton with the acids, previously mixed, 
and allowed to become cool; macerate for twelve hours; wash the 
nitrated cotton in a large quantity of water, dry it thoroughly by 
artificial heat, and dissolve it in ether. 

The present officinal process, which is a modification of that of 
Mialhe, is here introduced — 

Recipe No. 2. (Officinal) 

Take of Cotton, freed from impurities, 

and finely carded .... half an ounce. 

Nitrate of potassa, thoroughly dried, 

and reduced to fine powder . . ten ounces. 

Sulphuric acid eight fluidounces and a half. 

Ether two pints and a half. 

Alcohol . . . . . .a fluidounce. 

Add the sulphuric acid to the nitrate of potassa in a wedgewood 
mortar, and triturate them until uniformly mixed; then add the 
cotton, and by means of the pestle and glass rod, imbue it tho- 
roughly with the mixture for four minutes ; transfer the cotton to 
a vessel containing water, and wash it in successive portions by 
agitation and pressure until the washings cease to have an acid 
taste, or to be precipitated on the addition of chloride of barium. 
Having separated the fibres by picking, dry the cotton with a 
gentle heat, dissolve it by agitation in the ether previously mixed 
with the alcohol, and strain. 

Both these processes will yield collodion of excellent quality by 
observing the following precautions : — 

1. The sulphuric acid employed in both formulae must have 
been well preserved, or, if it has been long exposed to the air, 
should be boiled to free it from absorbed water. I have found a 
neglect of this precaution a fruitful source of failure. The officinal 
acid 1.84, is fully as strong as necessary. 



PREPARATION OF COLLODION". 239 

2. The nitric acid employed in No. 1, must be free from muri- 
atic, a common impurity; it must be of the specific gravity named, 
or not less than 1.45. The fuming variety is to be preferred. So 
also the nitrate of potassa, in No. 2, must be nearly free from 
chloride, which is commonly present in large proportion. Dupont's 
best granulated will answer well. 

3. The materials and vessels employed in either case must be 
dry; the ether must not be hydrated. The presence of a small 
portion of alcohol in it facilitates the solution. The ether of the 
shops has about the requisite proportion. 

4. In drying the prepared cotton, a diffused heat should be 
applied, and to thin layers only ; otherwise, the part in contact 
with the heating surface will become dry before the rest ; and if it 
reaches the requisite elevation of temperature, will endanger the 
whole. A complete mode of avoiding the common accident of ex- 
plosion from drying is mentioned below. 

5. Although the action of the mixed concentrated acids upon the 
lignin is immediate, as asserted in the quotation made on page 237, 
yet an advantage is gained by a long maceration in case of any de- 
ficiency in their strength, which is the reason for twelve hours being 
named in the recipe. If this delay is inconvenient, however, it would 
be well from time to time to remove a little of the macerating cotton 
into a test tube, and make trial of its solubility. I am not aware 
that any injury accrues to the prepared cotton from continued 
maceration in the acids, especially after they have spent themselves 
by the previous maceration. 

It now remains to notice, in connection with the process of pre- 
paring soluble gun cotton, the best mode of washing and drying it. 
The cotton should be removed, when the reaction is complete, into 
a funnel or other suitable support, and the stream from a hydrant 
turned upon it; or, if this is not convenient, let it be thrown into a 
vessel of water, and teased out with two sticks or glass rods, so as 
to be thoroughly permeated by the water, then collected into a 
compact form, and the acidulated water decanted, to be renewed 
once or twice, or as often as necessary to purify the prepared cot- 
ton. This is now found to be white, tasteless, inodorous, and, if 
dried, harsh and almost crystalline in its texture. The object of 
drying is to free it from the water absorbed by it in washing; and 
here I have the satisfaction of noticing an elegant expedient sug- 
gested to me by the late W. W. D. Livermore, which is simply to 
drain off the water by pressure, and then to macerate the cotton a 
few minutes in alcohol, which, by its affinity for the water, rapidly 
extracts it, and then may be sufficiently separated by expression, as 
it is not incompatible with the ethereal solution, which, in fact, it 
improves. 

• Charles S. Eand published, in the Journal of Pharmacy, vol. xxi. 
p. 209, a paper in which the property noticed in collodion of con- 
tracting powerfully during evaporation, is referred to as unfitting 
it for certain important uses. On this he remarks : — 



240 LIGNIN- AND ITS DERIVATIVES. 

" At the request of those who had experienced these difficulties, 
I undertook a series of experiments with the view of producing a 
collodion possessing all the adhesiveness and transparency of the 
ordinary preparation, but deprived of the contractility. It would 
be needless to mention in detail all the experiments. The terebin- 
thinates gave the most satisfactory results; a few trials sufficed to 
show that but a small quantity of resin or turpentine, dissolved in 
recently prepared collodion, would totally prevent contraction, and 
increase the adhesiveness of the preparation." 

Band's recipe is as follows : — 

Take of Prepared cotton 3ij- » 

Venice turpentine .... 3ij- 

Sulphuric ether §v. 

Dissolve, first, the cotton in the ether; add the turpentine, and, 
by slight agitation, complete the solution. I have preferred Venice 
turpentine as the form least frequently contaminated by mechanical 
impurities. 

The resulting collodion is thus described by C. S. Eand : — 

" When applied to the skin, this preparation forms a perfectly 
smooth transparent pellicle, more difficult to remove than that of 
ordinary collodion. Being more pliable, it yields to the motion of 
the skin, and will not crack even after several days' application. 
It might be supposed that the turpentine would render it more irri- 
tating, but this is not the case, owing to the absence of that me- 
chanical stimulus so powerfully displayed in the former solutions. 
The addition of two drachms of mastic to the above may be at times 
advisable, if the pellicle be required of great toughness and strength: 
but it dries more slowly, and remains opalescent longer than that 
containing Venice turpentine alone. This preparation is much 
more suitable for the purpose of a varnish than as an application to 
the skin. The label of a small vial was coated with it, and exposed 
thirty-six hours to the action of cold water, which was afterwards 
raised to the boiling point without any effect except a temporary 
destruction of transparency. Cold and boiling alcohol were alike 
powerless." 

Properties. — Collodion is a clear, colorless liquid, of a syrupy 
consistence, and strong odor of ether, which, when applied to a dry 
surface, evaporates spontaneously, yielding a transparent pellicle 
without whiteness, possessed of remarkable adhesiveness and con- 
tractility, and quite impervious to moisture or to the action of any 
solvents, ether excepted. 1 

M. Malgaigne states, in his article already quoted, that "a piece 
of linen or cotton cloth covered with it, and made to adhere by 
evaporation to the palm of the hand, will support, after a few 
minutes, without giving way, a weight of from 20 to 80 lbs. Its 
adhesive power is so great that the cloth will commonly be torn 

1 Evaporated collodion, according to Lowig, is "extremely electric." 



COLLODION. 



241 



before it gives way." Collodion can rarely be regarded as a perfect 
solution of cotton; it often contains, suspended and floating in it, a 
quantity of vegetable fibre which has escaped the solvent action of 
the ether. The liquid portion may be separated from these fibres by 
decantation or straining, but it is doubtful whether this is an advan- 
tage. In the evaporation of the liquid, these undissolved fibres, by 
felting with each other, appear to give a greater degree of tenacity 
and resistance to the dried mass, without destroying its transparency. 
Straining and expressing collodion are often necessary when it 
contains a large amount of undissolved fibre, which is generally the 
case with the last portions, in a bottle from which the clear liquid 
has been from time to time decanted ; a slight precaution may save 
the operator a great deal of trouble and mortification from his hands 
becoming coated with it beyond remedy. When about to squeeze 
the strainer, or to thrust the hands into the liquid for any purpose, 
be careful to have a towel at hand, and instantly, on removing them, 
wipe them thoroughly dry before time is allowed for evaporation and 
the consequent deposit of the pellicle. This plan will be found effectual. 

Mode of Preservation. — Collodion is one of those liquids which, 
owing to extreme volatility, it is objectionable to use from a large 
bottle, not only from the waste by evaporation every time the stop- 
per is drawn, and the consequent inspissation of the liquid ; but, 
also, from the explosive nature of the vapor of ether when it comes 
in contact with flame ; it should, therefore, be put up in small vials, 
from which it may be used with economy and safety. 

Formerly the apothecaries usually put it in ground stoppered 
vials, of one or two ounce capacity ; but a great improvement has 
been made in the substitution for these of common cork-stoppered, 
one ounce vials. 

Cork, by its elasticity, can be made to fit the neck of a vial more 
tightly than the best glass stopper, and is, therefore, less liable to 
be thrown out on an elevation of temperature of the contained vola- 
tile liquid. 

Collodion is generally applied by the aid of a camel's- 
hair brush, but if one of these is allowed to dry, after 
being immersed in the liquid, it is apt to be too stiff to 
nse again. To obviate this disadvantage, a contrivance, 
such as is shown in the accompanying figure, is resorted 
to; it consists of a long fsj vial, with a cork stopper, 
which is perforated with the smallest cylinder of the 
cork borer, or with the rat-tail file (see Figs. 169 and 170, 
p. 220), and into this perforation a thin piece of wood with 
a turned cap about the diameter of the cork is tightly in- 
serted; this plug of wood has the diameter of the quill of 
a camel's-hair brush of medium size, and it is long enough 
to project below the cork so that the quill will fit on to it 
16 



Fig. 177. 




242 LIGNIN AND ITS DERIVATIVES. 

and be secure. The bottle being now nearly filled and the cork 
inserted, the brush will dip into the collodion, and, by constant im- 
mersion, will keep moist and always ready for use. For further 
particulars in regard to the application of this principle to the ad- 
ministration of medicines, the reader is referred to the chapter on 
Dispensing. 

I have observed that where, from exposure, a part of the ether 
has evaporated, the addition of more ether will serve to redissolve 
the gelatinous residue, unless it has dried beyond a certain point, 
at which it becomes quite insoluble. 

Uses of Collodion. — The principal application of this adhesive 
liquid is to ordinary superficial sores, as cuts and abrasions of the 
skin, and also to some skin diseases, where the indication is to pro- 
tect the part from external irritating influences, and where violent 
itching is one of the most troublesome symptoms. Prof. Simpson, 
of Edinburgh, recommends it for sore nipples, which it completely 
protects without interfering with the sucking of the infant ; for this 
purpose, it would seem that Rand's preparation would be best 
suited. It was first principally recommended for the application 
of bandages, and is used very much in France as a substitute for 
dextrin in permanent splints, which, by its use, may be applied 
over a less extended surface without diminishing the strength and 
permanence of the dressing. 

In cases of burns, where the cuticle has been removed and the 
symptoms of acute pain allayed by suitable applications, collodion 
is capable of one of its most useful applications, though its con- 
tractility, besides the pain and sense of constriction which it induces, 
is also objectionable from occasioning a cracking of the pellicle and 
the irritation of the surface thus exposed. 

By combining collodion with the ethereal tincture of chloride of 
iron, a compound is produced which is said to furnish a much 
more resisting and pliable, though a thinner pellicle, and one 
adapted to the treatment of erysipelas. 

One of the uses of collodion in the arts should not be overlooked 
in this connection. In photography, it is used to form the delicate 
pellicle upon which images are reflected in the camera, for trans- 
ference to the engraver's block. By this process many of the 
drawings throughout this work have been produced, accurately 
representing the originals. 

The composition of collodion has excited much discussion, and 
some ingenious hypotheses. It is still very much in the dark. 
The discovery by Prof. Leidy, of this city, of a beautiful crystal- 
line deposit in inspissated collodion, and a similar and independent 
observation in London, are among the most remarkable facts bear- 
ing upon the composition and chemical relations of the group of 
principles to which lignin belongs. 

The announcement has been recently made that M. Reschamp, Pro- 



CAEBO LIGNI AND CARBO ANIMALIS. 243 

fessor of the School of Pharmacy at Strasburg, has succeeded in re- 
producing cotton from pyroxyline, by heating it at the tempera- 
ture of 212° with a concentrated solution of proto-chloride of iron. 
The chloride deepens in color, and very soon there is a disengage- 
ment of pure nitric oxide. When this has ceased, and the cotton 
has been washed with hydrochloric acid, to remove the peroxide of 
iron impregnating it, the cotton is found to have lost the proper- 
ties of pyroxyline. In the same way, amidon has been produced 
from xyloidin. 

By the distillation of the purer kinds of wood in close vessels, a 
variety of interesting compounds are produced, which are useful in 
the arts and in medicine. Of these, charcoal (carbo ligni, U. jS.), 
acetic acid (acidum aceticum, U. /SI), and pyroacetic, and pyroxilic 
spirit, and creasote (creasotum, U. S), may be mentioned as of 
special interest to the physician, and a short notice of each is 
appended. 

Carbo Ligni and Carbo Animalis, U. S. 

The former of these two kinds of charcoal is used in medicine, 
while the latter is most employed in chemical processes as a deco- 
lorizing agent. 

Willow charcoal, the variety most used in medicine, is chiefly 
obtained from the manufacturers of gunpowder, who devote much 
attention to the production of a pure and fine powdered article. I 
recently met with a beautiful specimen of wood charcoal, in the un- 
powdered form, at the Philadelphia Gras "Works, where it was col- 
lected as a residuary product from the manufacture of illuminating 
gas from wood. 

Charcoal is wholly insoluble, tasteless, and inodorous ; it con- 
tains a small portion of the incombustible saline materials of the 
wood, from which it may be freed by digestion in diluted muriatic 
acid, although this precaution is never necessary as a preparation 
for medicinal use. 

The dose of powdered charcoal as an absorbent antiseptic, is 
about a teaspoonful or less ; as an aperient, a tablespoonful, or 
somewhat less, mixed with magnesia. 

Animal charcoal, or bone-black, is made from bones by calcina- 
tion, and, besides carbon, contains phosphate and carbonate of lime 
in abundance ; these important constituents have much to do with 
the peculiar porosity which gives to this substance the power of 
absorbing coloring matter and gases, and adapts it for the various 
uses in the arts and in pharmaceutical chemistry to which it is 
applied. It is not very convenient to use in fine powder, and is 
hence generally prepared in a granular condition. 

Carbo animalis purijicatus, U. S., is among the preparations de- 
signed to be made by the apothecary. It is prepared by digesting 
a pound of animal charcoal with a pound each of muriatic acid and 



244 LIGNIN AND ITS DERIVATIVES. 

water, for two days at a moderate heat, pouring off the liquid and 
washing the charcoal thoroughly with water. 

This is adapted to many uses to which the unpurified powder 
would be unsuited, owing to its saline ingredients. 

In the preparation of the alkaloids, gallic acid and numerous 
other chemical substances, animal charcoal is used to absorb the 
associated coloring matters; but it should not be forgotten that the 
same property which adapts it to take up the coloring matter also 
occasions, to some extent, the absorption of the alkaloid or other 
principle, so that the loss by the decolorizing process is consider- 
able, unless means are resorted to for the subsequent extraction of 
the absorbed portions. 

To this absorbent property animal charcoal owes its utility as 
an antidote to the powerful vegetable poisons, which, as proved by 
Dr. B. H. Rand, may be rendered innoxious in their effects by a 
large admixture of this inert but porous powder. 

ACIDUM ACETICUM, U. S. 

The acid liquid distilled over when charcoal is prepared from 
wood, in close cylinders without access of air, contains this valuable 
acid in a very impure state. By subjecting this to further distilla- 
tion, the liquid is collected which is known as wood vinegar, or 
pyroligneous acid. By saturating this acid with lime, acetate of 
lime is produced, which, by decomposition with sulphate of soda, 
furnishes sulphate of lime and acetate of soda; the latter salt being 
crystallized in a state of purity, yields, by distillation with sul- 
phuric acid, pure hydrated acetic acid in solution in water. 

This is directed in the Pharmacopoeia to have a specific gravity 
of 1.041, which, however, is a less satisfactory assurance of its 
strength than its saturating power, which, as before stated under 
Aceta, is such that 100 grains saturate 60 of crystallized bicarbo- 
nate of potassa, and contain 36 grains of monohydrated acid. 

Acetic acid is also produced by the oxidation of alcoholic liquids, 
especially cider and wine, and in this impure and diluted form is 
called vinegar ; in chemical works it is generally classed among 
the derivatives of alcohol. 

Much of the vinegar of commerce is largely adulterated or sophis- 
ticated, although, according to the experiments of W."W\ D. Liver- 
more, the use of sulphuric acid is less common than has been 
supposed. Of sixteen specimens of commercial vinegar obtained 
from different sources, none were adulterated with sulphuric acid. 
Tested for malic acid, gum, and extractive matter, believed to be 
always present in cider vinegar, all but two gave evidence of con- 
taining one or more of these products by throwing down a precipi- 
tate with subacetate of lead, soluble in nitric acid. 

The strength of the different specimens was ascertained by him 



CKEASOTUM. 



245 



as follows. The numbers represent the number of grains of bicar- 
bonate of potassa saturating 100 grains of vinegar: — 
No. 1 9 grains. 



J* 

8 

4 

5ft 

8 

8ft 
5ft 
8ft 
7ft 



The normal saturating power is about 7J grains of the bicar- 
bonate to 100 grains of vinegar. 



Acetone, oe Pykoacetic Spirit, C 3 H 3 0, and Pyroxylic Spirit, 
or Wood Naphtha, C 2 H 4 2 . 

These are products of the distillation of wood, which are sepa- 
rated from the acid liquors, after they are saturated with lime, by 
simple distillation and rectification. 

They are both colorless, or slightly yellow, inflammable, volatile, 
pungent liquids, closely resembling each other in sensible and 
medical properties, and generally confounded with each other in 
commerce ; they may be known apart by their reactions with 
chloride of calcium. 

While pyroacetic spirit does not dissolve or mix with a satu- 
rated solution of the ehloride, pyroxylic spirit instantly mixes 
when dropped into it. 

The normal specific gravity of each is about the same, .792 to 
.798 ; but, as found in commerce, they oftener reach .820 to .846. 

These remedial agents are sometimes prescribed, though not so 
much as formerly, in connection with cough medicines. Dose, about 
10 to 40 drops. 



Creasotum, U. S., C 14 H s 2 . (?) 

This is a secondary empyreumatic product of the destructive 
distillation of wood, which is obtained by the distillation of tar. 

Pure creasote is colorless and transparent, having a high refrac- 
tive power and oleaginous consistence. Its odor, when diffused, is 
smoky, its taste burning and caustic ; its specific gravity is from 
1.037 to 1.06. It is freely soluble in alcohol, ether, acetic acid, caustic 
potash, and in water to the extent of six or ten drops to the ounce. 

Its most important property is that of coagulating albumen, 



246 LIGNIN AND ITS DERIVATIVES. 

which renders it powerfully antiseptic and caustic. Placed in con- 
tact with a suppurating surface, it whitens the cuticle and destroys 
it like nitrate of silver. 

Its principal use internally is in the form of creasote water, to 
check nausea. For this purpose, about two drops may be dissolved 
in an ounce of water, and a little gum and sugar added ; dose, a 
tablespoonful (equal to one drop), and frequently repeated. 

Dropped upon a fragment of cotton, after dilution with alcohol, 
ether, or chloroform, and inserted into the cavity of a tooth, it 
relieves toothache when the pain is occasioned by the exposure of 
the nerve, and is popularly regarded as the most certain remedy. 

From very frequent experiment and practice, I believe that any 
of the highly pungent essential oils, as of cloves and cinnamon, are 
equally efficient, while tannic acid and chloroform, which are much 
less offensive, are nearly alwaj^s successful. Very painful and dis- 
tressing accidents are liable to occur from attempting to drop any 
of these liquids into the cavity of a tooth from a vial. 

As an external caustic, creasote may be applied, undiluted, with 
a camel's-hair pencil ; but for other purposes it is usually prepared 
in the form of ointment (unguentum creasoti, U. S.\ or in solution 
in water. In hemorrhages, it acts as a most efficient styptic, and 
is successfully applied in solution, in the proportion of about six 
drops to the ounce of water. 

Creasote is one of the remedies which the apothecary is most 
frequently called upon to prescribe and apply. Large quantities 
are also consumed by dentists. 

The article now generally sold as creasote is quite different from 
what was formerly met with under that name. It is imported 
from Germany, and is much cheaper than the old kind, which came 
from England, and was obtained from wood tar as above. The 
present article, which is remarkable for readily assuming a brown 
color on exposure to the light and air, is chemically a hydrated 
oxide of phenyle, or carbolic acid, C, 2 II 5 0, and is prepared from 
coal tar. It has a specific gravity of 1.062, and boils at 386°. A 
slip of pine wood dipped first into this and then into hydrochloric 
acid becomes blue, which is not the case with the true wood-tar 
creasote. In an article on this subject, in the New York Journal of 
Pharmacy, Oct., 1853, Professor Edward N. Kent has given a me- 
thod of manufacture and purification which has proved successful 
in his hands, and expresses the opinion that carbolic acid is crea- 
sote in a purer form than that obtained from wood tar. It is 
certainly less disagreeable for use. 



FARINACEOUS AND SACCHARINE PRINCIPLES. 247 



CHAPTER II. 

ON FARINACEOUS, MUCILAGINOUS, AND SACCHARINE 
PRINCIPLES. 

Starch, C 24 H 20 O 20 , having the same composition as lignin, differs 
from it widely in physical properties ; it exists in various parts of 
plants, especially in seeds, tubers, and bulbous 
roots, in minute cells, which may be distin- Fig. 178. 

guished by a microscope of moderate power. 
The size and shape of these have been made 
special subjects of investigation by pharma- 
cologists, and their study has been found to 
aid in the recognition of the different varie- 
ties of fecula. The envelop of these starch 
granules is insoluble in cold water, but is 
ruptured by the application of heat, so that 
the contents are exposed and become dis- 
solved. Hence, starch is said to be insoluble 
in cold, but soluble in hot water. By heat, 
starch is converted into dextrin, a soluble „, 

„ - . , . '. Starch granules as seen under 

form having the same composition. This a microscope, 

object is also attained, as in the case of lignin, 

by the action of dilute acids, which also ultimately convert it into 
grape sugar. One of the most striking characteristics of starch is 
its reaction in cold solution with iodine, with which it forms a rich 
blue colored iodide, which loses its color by heat. These two sub- 
stances thus become tests for each other. With bromine it produces 
an orange-colored precipitate. 

Lichenin from cetraria, carrageenin from chondrus, inulin from inula 
helena, and other sources, are closely allied to starch, but are dis- 
tinguished from it and from each other by physical peculiarities, 
and by the fact that while lichenin turns blue with iodine, inulin 
becomes yellow or brownish with that test, and carrageenin is not 
affected by it, though differing from gum in solubility and in certain 
chemical relations. 

Gums differ from starch chiefly in the absence of the granular 
condition, and in their consequent partial or complete solubility in 
cold water. They are obtained from certain plants in amorphous 
masses, mostly exuding spontaneously or upon a puncture of the 
bark. A solution of gum is not affected by iodine, but the most 
common varieties are precipitated in a very insoluble form by 
subacetate of lead, 2PbO,Ac. A solution of gum is also precipitated 
by alcohol. 




248 FARINACEOUS AND SACCHARINE PRINCIPLES. 

The different varieties of gum are as follows : — 

Arabin, C 24 H 22 22 , derived largely from the acacias ; it is ex- 
tremely soluble in water, forming a clear and colorless though viscid 
solution, almost free from taste. It may be considered the type of 
the class, and exists nearly free from impurities in the finer qualities 
of gum Arabic. 

Bassorin, C 24 H 20 O 20 , is an insoluble variety, swelling with water 
and dissolving in alkalies. This predominates in gum tragacanth. 

Pectin, C 64 H 48 64 , the jelly of fruits, is somewhat analogous to 
bassorin; it is tasteless, dries into a transparent mass, soluble in 
water. It exists in the currant and various berries and fruits, and 
largely in the roots of carrots. The gelatinous consistence of cur- 
rant and other vegetable jellies is due to this principle. 

Cerasin, or cherry-tree gum, much resembles the last. 

Mucilage, which exists in the mallows, in flaxseed, and in salep, 
is soluble, but forms a less clear solution than Arabin ; it is distin- 
guished chemically by being precipitated by neutral acetate of lead, 
PbO,Ac. 

Mezquite is a name proposed for a gum, to which attention has 
been called by Dr. Geo. Shurnard, produced abundantly in Texas 
and New Mexico — parts of our own country as yet but little ex- 
plored; it is extremely soluble, and differs from Arabin principally 
in not being precipitated by 2PbOAc. 

Sugar is of several kinds, which are closely allied to each other 
and to the foregoing ternary principles in composition. They are 
distinguished by a sweet taste, and a more or less distinctly crystal- 
line form. They are mostly soluble in water and somewhat soluble 
in alcohol. 

The following table exhibits the composition, sources, and pro- 
perties of the different varieties: — 

f Crv^talli/ed riinl Derived from sugar cane, the beet, and 
Cane Sugar \ Combined r II 10 f sugar maple. In crystals, it is rock 

Caramel, C 24 II |8 18 , deep brown coloring matter produced by heating cane sugar. 
Grape Sugar, f Crystallised, C M H 9 M ) Exists in fruits, less sweet, and lea. edjUj 

or Glucose Combined, C>X I 'Yf- * -'n? P reci P ltate8 CuU from 
I 21 21 2I J solution 10 kO. 

,,.„ „ f ~ . „. , -. „ n ) By evaporating whey ; rather insoluble; 

Milk Sugar, Crys all.zed , 1 I ,, [ % cr / hard . * ot ver y sweet ; not easily 
or Lectin ^ Combined, C M H 19 19 J ferraentabl ' e . 3 

Glycyrrhizin, from liquorice ; not fermentable ; not crystallizable. 

Mannite, C 6 H 7 6 . from manna ; not fermentable ; soluble ; very sweet ; not cathartic. 

Sugar from ergot, C 24 H 26 26 : not practically important. 

Grape sugar is a variety produced in grapes and in different 
fruits; it is readily obtainable from old and inferior raisins, on 
which it is collected as a white powder. It is also deposited by 
honey, from which it may be obtained in considerable quantities 
by straining off the uncrystallizable sugar. It abounds in apples, 



FAEINACEOUS AND SACCHAEINE MEDICINES. 249 

pears, currants, gooseberries, &c. It constitutes also the sugar of 
diabetes. The most economical method of obtaining it is by acting 
on starch or lignin with sulphuric acid. 

Sugar of milk is not manufactured in this country, but is said to 
be chiefly imported from Switzerland, where it is made on a large 
scale from whey; it is crystallized upon sticks or strings in masses 
not unlike stalactites in appearance. The greatest consumption 
of this is by the homceopathists, who use it as a vehicle for almost 
all their medicines in the form of powders and pillets. It is said 
by them to have the least action upon the system of any substance 
they have experimented with; and hence its employment as a 
diluent for the infinitesimal doses, which, according to their theory, 
are increasingly powerful in proportion to their dilution. Its phy- 
sical condition of hardness or resistance to mechanical action adapts 
it to develop the latent efficiency of those medicines which they 
assert are only rendered active by long attrition. Recently, pow- 
dered sugar of milk has come into use in regular practice, as a food 
for infants in teething, less apt to produce acidity than cane sugar. 

As already stated, by the action of diluted acids upon lignin and 
starch, they are converted into a soluble form called dextrin, and 
ultimately pass into grape sugar; this change may be produced by 
long boiling alone; it is also produced in starch by nitrogenized 
ferments, especially by that peculiar substance known as diastase. 
By the same means, cane sugar is spontaneously converted into 
grape sugar, and this into alcohol, and ultimately into acetic acid; 
and, in fact, the alcoholic and acetic liquors of commerce are pro- 
duced in this way from the various starchy and saccharine vege- 
table products used in their manufacture. 

List of the Principal Farinaceous, Mucilaginous, and Saccharine 



Fecula in its Various Forms. 

Amylum, TJ. S., starch. Fecula of the seeds of triticum vulgare. 
Carina, tous les mois. Fecula of the root of an undetermined species. 
Maranta, TJ. S., arrowroot. Fecula of the rhizoma of M. arundinacea. 
Sago, TJ. S. The prepared fecula of the pith of sagus rumphii. 
Florida arrowroot. Fecula of Zamia integrifolia. 
Tapioca, TJ. S. The fecula of the root of the janipha manihot. 

Gums in their Various Forms. 

Acacia, TJ. S. Concrete juice of A. vera and other species. 
Mezquite gum. Concrete juice of prosopis dulcis. (?) 
Salep. Root of several species of orchis. 
Tragacantha, TJ. S. Concrete juice of astragalus verus. 

Sugars in their Various Forms. 

Saccharum, TJ. 8. Refined sugar of saccharum officinarum. 

Saccharum candium, rock candy. Crystallized sugar. 

Lactin, sugar of milk. Obtained from whey. 

Treacle, molasses. Impure uncrystallizable sugar in liquid form. 



250 FARINACEOUS AND SACCHARINE PRINCIPLES. 

Mel, TJ. S., honey. A liquid prepared by apis mellifica. 

Manna, U.S. Concrete juice of ornus Europasa. 

Extractum glycyrrhizse, TJ. S. Impure extract of glycyrrhiza glabra. 

Other Drugs grouped as Starchy, Mucilaginous, and Saccharine. <S 

Althasa? radix, marshmallow root. Contains starch, mucilage, asparagin. 
" flores, " " flowers. " " " " 

Avenae farina, U. S., oatmeal. Meal of arena sativa. Contains the hulls. 

Buchu, U. S., leaves of barosmacrenata, &c. Contain mucilage and ess. oil. 

Carota, U. S. The fruit is officinal, but it is the root that contains pectin. 

Cetraria, IT. S., Iceland moss. Contains lichenin and a bitter principle. 

Chondrus, U. S., carrageen, chondrus crispus. Contains carrageenin, pectin. 

Cydonium, U. S., quince seeds. Seeds of cydonia vulgaris ; mucilaginous. 

Ficus, U. S., the fig. Dried fruit of ficus carica. Sugar; laxative. 

Glycyrrhiza, U. S., root of glycyrrhiza glabra. Peculiar sugar, glycyrrhizin. 

Hordeum, TJ. S., barley. Decorticated seeds of II. distichon ; farinaceous. 

Inula, U. S., elecampane. Root of inula helena; inulin. 

Iris florentina. TJ. S., orrisroot. Starchy rhizome. 

Lappa, TJ. S., burdock. Root of lappa minor. Contains inulin. 

Linum, TJ. S., flaxseed. Seeds of linum usitatissimum; mucilage, with fixed oil. 

Oryza sativa, rice. The seed deprived of hulls; farinaceous. 

Papaver, TJ. S., poppyheads. Ripe capsules of papaver somniferum ; mucila- 
ginous. 

Prunum, TJ. S., prunes. Dried fruit of prunus domestica; laxative principle. 

Sassafras medulla, U. S. Pith of sassafras officinale; rich in mucilage. 

Sesami folia, V. S., benne. Leaves of sesamum indicum and orientale ; 
mucilaginous. 

Symphytum officinale, comfrey. Root rich in mucilage. 

Ulmus, TJ. S., elm bark. The interior bark of ulmus fulva ; highly mucila- 
ginous. 

Uva passa, TJ. S., raisins. Dried fruit of vitis vinifera; contain grape sugar. 

The starch group contains, besides the starches, all the cereal 
grains, which owe their immense utility as articles of food to the 
presence of starch mingled with a due proportion of a nitrogenized 
principle, gluten. In many drugs, starch exists to an extent which 
interferes with their convenient preparation for use in medicine, 
while it is an important element in certain demulcent and nutritious 
articles used in medicine, as food for infants, &c. 

Amylum, or icheat starch, is not adapted to internal use. 

Arrowroot and canna root are the best forms of pure starch for 
infants; the latter has lately almost ceased to be brought into our 
market. 

The commercial varieties of arrowroot used in this country, are 
Bermuda, which commands the highest price, Jamaica, Liberia, 
Florida, and Georgia arrowroot; these all appear to possess the 
same wholesome and nutritive properties, provided they are well 
prepared and well preserved. There are few articles more liable to 
deteriorate by improper modes of preservation than this ; a musty 
taste is imparted to it by exposure to moisture, and it readily 
acquires the odor of drugs with which it is placed in contact. It 
should be kept in glass bottles or tin cans. 

Arrowroot is an important diet for young children. "When fresh 
and pure, it forms one of the most wholesome and nutritious arti- 



FAKINACEOUS AND SACCHARINE MEDICINES. 251 

cles of food in the dietetic category. Great care is necessary in its 
preparation, and the reader is referred for instructions upon the 
subject to the article on diet for the sick. 

Gornfecula has lately been introduced, and largely manufactured 
in this country. It is made from maize, and is an admirable sub- 
stitute for arrowroot for table use (though not as food for infants), 
being much cheaper, and equally free from unpleasant odor and 
taste. 

Sago and tapioca, owing to their mode of preparation, are more 
soluble, having properties somewhat . resembling those of traga- 
canth. Their physical condition seems to diminish the tendency 
to become musty, which is so common a difficulty with arrowroot, 
while their preparations are better adapted to the taste of adults 
generally, than the more fluid arrowroot pap. 

Of the materials used as food, which owe their utility to con- 
taining starch, I need only refer to such as are commonly pre- 
scribed in the sick-room, and only such are mentioned in the 
syllabus. 

Eeference has been already made to barley, and the mode of 
its preparation, as given in the Pharmacopoeia, is mentioned under 
the class Decocta. Barley flour is a fine preparation of this. 

Bice is a very bland and nutritious farinaceous seed, which, like 
barley, comes into commerce decorticated, ready to be prepared by 
boiling. Several of its preparations are mentioned with the recipes 
inserted under the head of diet for the sick; these are nutritive, de- 
mulcent, and somewhat astringent in their effect upon the bowels. 
Eice, by long boiling in water, becomes nearly dissolved, forming 
a jelly, which is one of its most useful forms of administration in 
disease. 

Oatmeal is distinguished from either of the above in powder by 
containing the husk ground with the seed. Unlike the foregoing, 
it is adapted to relieve constipation. It is easily digested, and ex- 
ceedingly nutritive. Oatmeal is given to infants when there is 
no tendency to diarrhoea, and very generally to females after par- 
turition. 

Orrisroot, in powder, is much used by ladies as an infant and 
toilet powder, for which it is adapted by its whiteness and delicate 
though persistent odor. Its use in dentifrice powders is well known. 

The Mucilaginous or Gummy Group. — Gum is associated in some 
plants with resin ; and gum resins, a remarkably natural class of 
drugs, will be hereafter referred to in treating of resins. 

Variously associated with other proximate principles, gum is 
present in a great variety of vegetables ; like starch, it plays an 
important part in the physiology of the plant, and enters as an ele- 
ment into a great number of articles, both of food and medicine. 
In its important relations to the art of prescribing and compound- 
ing medicines, we shall have occasion to refer to it frequently 



252 FARINACEOUS AND SACCHARINE PRINCIPLES. 

throughout the subsequent parts of the work, and now introduce 
it only for the purpose of calling attention to a few medicines, 
into which it enters in some of its modified forms. 

Salep and tragacanth are modified gums which seem adapted to 
nutritious combinations, and enter into Castillon's powders, intro- 
duced among articles of diet. Tragacanth is much used for making 
paste for common adhesive purposes. 

The chief use of carrageen in medicine has been adverted to under 
the head of compound syrup of carrageen, but it remains to refer 
to it as furnishing a most agreeable article of diet, known as blanc 
mange, for which a recipe is given under the appropriate head. The 
only difficulty in making agreeable preparations of carrageen arises 
from its salt-water taste, which may be removed by long soaking 
in water previous to subjecting it to preparation. 

Iceland moss contains a bitter principle, adapting it to use as a 
tonic demulcent. 

Elecampane, burdock, and comfrey, and the root and flowers of 
marshmallow, enter into a variety of domestic expectorant remedies. 

Flaxseed contains, with its mucilaginous ingredient, a large amount 
of fixed oil ; under the head of Infusions, the well-known demulcent 
drink called flaxseed tea is introduced. Infusion of sassafras pith 
is mentioned in the same syllabus; its chief use is as a bland appli- 
cation to inflamed eyes. Coarsely-powdered elm bark and flaxseed 
are much used as poultices or cataplasms. Poppjheads, beaten into 
a mass, are adapted to the same uses. 

The well-known fact that flaxseed meal, particularly that abound- 
ing in oil, becomes very acid by age, is well accounted for by M. 
Pelouze, who finds that whenever a seed containing an oil is crushed 
so as to break up the cells, and to bring the oil in contact with the 
associated ferments, acidification almost immediately commences, 
and goes on till frequently the whole of the oil is decomposed with 
the liberation of its appropriate oil acid. 

The kind of powder called cake meal, which is made from the 
flaxseed cake after the expression of the oil, and so much used for 
feeding cattle, is preferred to ordinary flaxseed meal for making 
poultices in the Pennsylvania Hospital, where great quantities are 
consumed for that purpose. The cake meal forms a firmer poultice, 
and one less liable to adhere to the skin than the more oily material 
which is usually sold in the shops and preferred by many practi- 
tioners as more emollient. Dr. R. P. Thomas informs me that he 
finds the use of one-third bran with the latter kind is an improve- 
ment. 

In buchu and carrot, mucilage is associated with an essential oil 
which adapts these drugs to use as diuretics. 

Quince seeds are much used for making bandoline for the hair, a 
preparation which is made extensively by the perfumers. The 
consistence of its mucilage, and its property of continuing moist for 
a long time, adapt it to this use. 



SUGAK. 253 

The sesamum, or benne plant, grows readily in gardens in our 
climate, and might be generally introduced with advantage. The 
seed yields a bland fixed oil. 

Benne leaves have been quite popular for several years as an 
excellent demulcent and nutritive article for infants, prostrated by 
the so-called summer complaint, which is so fatal to this class in 
our large cities; the mucilaginous principle they contain is readily 
dissolved out by macerating a leaf in a glass of water for a few 
minutes. The dried leaf furnishes a much less agreeable mucilage 
than the fresh. 

The Saccharine Group. — Of the forms of sugar mentioned in the 
syllabus, each has its appropriate uses. The abundance and cheap- 
ness of pure white cane sugar is one of the greatest blessings secured 
to the race by the well-directed scientific efforts of the last half cen- 
tury. Its chief physical characteristics, which are sufficiently fami- 
liar, have been brought into view in the chapter on Syrups. 

Cane sugar is much used in pharmacy as a preservative of veget- 
able preparations, and to prevent some delicate metallic salts from 
oxidation. It is highly nutritious, and enters largely into most 
natural and prepared articles of vegetable food. 

Preparation. — The juice of the cane is extracted by pressure be- 
tween iron rollers, after which it is collected and boiled with quick- 
lime, strained, and reduced by evaporation to a thick syrup, when 
the whole is cooled and granulated in shallow vessels; it is now 
raw sugar of commerce. By purification or refining, which is 
accomplished by the aid of animal charcoal, it is obtained as loaf, 
or more commonly as broken-down or crushed sugar — the condi- 
tion in which it is mostly preferred for use in pharmacy. 

In the granulation of raw sugar, the uncrystallizable portion which 
remains is drawn off and constitutes molasses of commerce. Molasses, 
by careful manipulation, is made to yield a further portion of sugar, 
and thus constitutes sugar-house molasses, or, as it is called abroad, 
treacle. 

Rock candy is a very pure and pleasant form of cane sugar, pre- 
pared by crystallizing it slowly upon a string from a strong solu- 
tion ; it is preferred for coughs from the slowness with which it 
dissolves in the mouth, and is very generally used to sweeten muci- 
laginous and acid drinks used in catarrhs. 

The peculiar brown coloring matter called caramel, which is iden- 
tical in composition with cane sugar when in combination, is pro- 
duced by heating that substance to a temperature at which it loses 
four equivalents of the elements of water, and becomes quite altered 
in its properties; it is freely soluble in water, and has a bitter and 
not disagreeable empyreumatic taste. It is much used to color 
liquors, as in the fabrication of brandy, and is a useful addition to 
soups ; as this substance is not without practical importance, and is 



254 FARINACEOUS AND SACCHARINE PRINCIPLES. 

little known to pharmaceutists, I append a formula which I have 
found to answer very well for its preparation — 

Take of Sugar 1 pound. 

Tartaric acid .... 1 drachm. 

Mix them in a porcelain capsule, and apply a gradually increasing 
heat till the sugar melts and burns a little, and the whole assumes 
a dark brown color, then add water. 

Honey is a mixture of uncrystallizable and grape sugar; by long 
standing, the latter constituent is apt to be deposited in a granular 
form ; it also generally contains a volatile odorous principle and 
wax. Honey is a favorite remedy in sore throat, which it will often 
cure when used singly ; it is very commonly associated with astrin- 
gents in gargles. Many persons find honey to produce flatulence 
and diarrhoea to an extent that forbids its use as an article of diet, 
while others thrive upon it. As a domestic remedy, it is used for irri- 
table conditions of the mucous surfaces. It may not be generally 
known that the honey so extensively sold in the cities in tin cans 
holding a quart or more, and in bottles of somewhat less capacity, 
by the druggists and grocers, is a factitious article made on a large 
scale from Havana sugar ; this fact, which has only recently come 
to light, will surprise many who have been favorably impressed 
with the article as remarkably pure and agreeable honey. 

Genuine honey is quite apt to be very impure, and to require 
clarifying. This is accomplished by heating it in a suitable vessel 
to a very moderate degree, and maintaining the temperature till it 
ceases to separate a scum, which is to be skimmed off as it rises to 
the surface. 

Manna is an impure form of sugar, which is universally known 
as a mild cathartic, or rather laxative, adapted particularly to infants, 
and much associated with senna in a popular form of cathartic infu- 
sion. The peculiar sugar it contains when separated in a pure form 
is remarkable for not being liable to ferment. 

Liquorice root, and the extract prepared from it, and known in 
commerce as liquorice ball, or Spanish juice, are drugs used exclu- 
sively for their saccharine principles ; the latter is so impure as to 
be well substituted by an extract for which two formulas are given 
under the head of Extracts. 

Raisins are used almost exclusively for their sugar, while prunes 
and Jigs, although the former contains a vegetable acid, and both, 
perhaps, purgative principles, seem well associated with the saccha- 
rine group. 



THE PROTEIN AND SIMILAR PRINCIPLES. 255 



CHAPTER III. 

THE PROTEIN AND SIMILAR PRINCIPLES. 

Albumen, fibrin, and legumin, or casein, are, like the fixed oils and 
fats, common to vegetable and animal bodies. They contain nitro- 
gen, and, according to some, consist of a hypothetical radical, pro- 
tein, C 40 H 31 N 5 O 12 , with varying proportions of sulphur and phos- 
phorus. Whether this view, which has been disputed, be true or 
not, it affords a convenient grouping under which to arrange them, 
and the present chapter will be devoted to presenting these, with 
gelatin, which is naturally associated with them, in some of their 
medical and pharmaceutical relations. 

Albumen, in its natural condition, is soluble in cold water, but 
coagulable at a temperature of about 160° F. ; it is abundant in 
many vegetable juices, as those of the fleshy narcotic plants. It is 
seen separating as a flocculent precipitate from the cold infusions 
or tinctures of senega, ipecac, and other medicinal roots, on sub- 
mitting them to the action of heat. In the animal organism, it is 
a large constituent ; like the other quaternary organic substances, 
it is prone to putrefy and to produce fermentation in starchy and 
saccharine preparations, and, on that account, its removal is pro- 
vided for in a number of the formula for permanent preparations 
given throughout this work. There seems a close connection be- 
tween the green coloring matter of plants, chlorophylle, and this 
coagulable principle, so that the green color is readily separated 
from vegetable juices by heating and straining them. Albumen is 
coagulated by corrosive sublimate, creasote, alcohol, and most acids. 
Analogous to albumen, are the principles named emulsin and 
myrocyn, existing respectively in bitter almonds and in black 
mustard-seed, and which, by their reaction with amygdalin, a neu- 
tral crystallizable principle in almonds, and a peculiar sulphuretted 
principle in black mustard, form important and interesting essential 
oils. 

Fibrin exists in vegetable juices, and is apt to separate as a slight 
coagulum by standing. It is a large constituent of gluten, the 
nutricious principle associated with starch in wheat flour. It is 
insoluble in water, and is the chief constituent of lean meat. 

Casein, or legumin, is found most abundantly in peas, beans, &c. 
It is not coagulable by heat, which, however, causes a scum on the 
surface of solutions containing it. It is eoagulable by acids, even 
very dilute. Casein exists largely in milk, and separates as a curd 
on the formation of lactic acid by the fermentation of its associated 
saccharine principles. 



256 THE PROTEIN AND SIMILAR PRINCIPLES. 

These compounds are of great interest in a physiological point of 
view, as existing, according to some, in all really nutritious food, 
whether animal or vegetable ; as they are found much more largely 
in animal than in vegetable organisms, they are most conveniently 
considered in their practical relations in connection with some of 
the more familiar articles of animal food. 

Ovum, U. S. The Egg of Phasianus Gallus. {Common Dunghill 
Fowl) 

Eggs are well known to consist of three parts : ovi albumen, the 
white; ovi vitellus, the yolk or yelk ; and ovi testa, the shell. 

The white of egg consists of nearly pure albumen and water; it 
comprises about 60 per cent, of the whole. It is very coagulable, 
forming a firm, rather tough mass upon long boiling. The com- 
pletely coagulated albumen of eggs is considered rather indigestible. 
Three minutes immersion of the egg in boiling water is sufficient 
to bring it to a proper condition intermediate between its natural 
glairy consistence and a tough coagulum. 

The yelk contains a yellow oil suspended in water by the aid of 
albumen; it is inclosed in a sac, and comprises about 29 per cent, of 
the whole egg. By heat, it is coagulated and dried into a granular 
solid, from which the fixed oil may be obtained by expression. 

The shell, or testa, consists of carbonate of lime so intimately 
mingled with animal matter that the inorganic particles are tho- 
roughly isolated. Powdered and levigated, they are more accept- 
able to delicate stomachs than other forms of the carbonate. 

Eggs, owing to their universal diffusion as common articles of 
food, are available for emergencies in which albumen is needed in 
medicine, or especially as an antidote for poisons. The white of 
egg is the antidote usually prescribed for corrosive sublimate and 
sulphate of copper, with which it combines, and it is useful in all 
cases of poisoning by corrosive or acrid poisons. The yelk is 
adapted to a similar use by its demulcent and sheathing properties. 
In suspending oily matters, both parts are used, the yelk being 
perhaps the best, although the white is recommended, by absence of 
color; for most purposes, there is no objection to mixing them. 
The use of white of eggs to clarify syrups has been spoken of under 
that head. Some modes of preparing eggs for use in convalescence 
are introduced among the articles of diet. 

[Eggs are often desired by the sick and convalescent, and are 
sometimes allowable. There are one or two forms of acute disease 
in which they may sometimes be used with advantage. In cholera 
infantum, the stomach being irritable and the digestive process ex- 
ceedingly imperfect, the yelk of an egg that has been boiled till it 
is dry (say fifteen minutes or more), and reduced to a fine powder, 
may be readily appropriated by the infant without aggravating the 
intestinal irritation, care being taken to administer it in divided 
portions. In those cases of dysentery of a low type, which fre- 



LAC, MILK. 257 

quently occur in malarial districts, where the patient is visited with 
fearful prostration, and the demand for support is imperative, and 
the stomach rejects the ordinary nutriment, the cessation of vomit- 
ing and nausea may be brought about by the administration of the 
yelk of an uncooked egg, taken in an unbroken state from the 
shell and clipped in a wineglass containing a little iced water or 
brandy and water. — J. P.] 

No article of the Materia Medica could be classed as fibrinous. 
Fibrin is, however, especially interesting to the physician from its 
existence in a liquid form in the blood, while it forms also a solid 
element of muscular fibre. By long-continued boiling, fibrin be- 
comes partly dissolved, and is hence present in most soups. As a 
constituent of the various cereal grains and of animal flesh, it enters 
largely into the food of the human race. Farinaceous materials 
containing gluten serve a good purpose as antidotes to acrid 
poisons. 

Lac. Lac Vaccinum. {Cow's Milk.) 

This contains casein, which, in common language, is known as 
curd; an oily ingredient, butter; lactin, or sugar of milk, of which 
mention has already been made, and which is, in solution in water, 
called the serum of milk ; and alkaline and earthy salts. 

Milk is a very complex body. By examination under the micro- 
scope, the oily ingredient, in exceedingly minute globules, is seen 
floating in the serous-looking white fluid ; being lighter than the 
liquor in which they are suspended, these rise to the surface by 
standing, carrying with them some casein and whey, and forming 
cream. The quantity of cream varies from 5 to 23 per cent, by 
measure; the milk from which cream is separated is called skim- 
med milk. The lactometer is an apparatus for telling the specific 
gravity of milk, which, although it varies considerably, should reach 
about 1.030. Skimmed milk is, however, a little heavier, say 
1.0348, so that it will bear dilution with a little water to bring it 
to the normal specific gravity. The absence of the cream is, how- 
ever, so easily detected by the blue tinge of color, and want of 
the characteristic rich taste, that this variation in the instrument is 
of little account. The specific gravity is not given on the instru- 
ment, but the degree of dilution, which, of course, is only approxi- 
mative. The microscope forms the best test for the purity and 
richness of milk, showing the proportion of the oil globules. 

Solidified milk having recently been extensively introduced to 
public notice, the following account of its mode of preparation and 
uses is extracted from the American Medical Monthly, by whose editor 
it was written, after a visit to the extensive manufactory and pas- 
ture lands attached, in the State of New York, where it is made: — 

" To 112 lbs. of milk, 28 lbs. of Stuart's white sugar were added, 
and a trivial proportion of bicarbonate of soda, a teaspoonful, merely 
enough to insure the neutralizing of any acidity, which in the sum- 
17 



/ 

258 THE PROTEIN AND SIMILAR PRINCIPLES. 

mer season is exhibited even a few minutes after milking, although 
inappreciable to the organs of taste. The sweet milk was poured 
into evaporating pans of enamelled iron, imbedded in warm water 
heated by steam. A thermometer was immersed in each of these 
water baths that, by frequent inspection, the temperature might 
not rise above the point which years of experience have shown 
advisable. 

"To facilitate the evaporation, by means of blowers and other 
ingenious apparatus, a current of air is established between the 
covers of the pans and the solidifying milk. Connected with the 
steam engine is an arrangement of stirrers, for agitating the milk 
slightly whilst evaporating, and so gently as not to churn it. In 
about three hours the milk and sugar assumed a pasty consistency, 
and delighted the palates of all present ; by constant manipulation 
and warming, it was reduced to a rich, creamy-looking powder, 
then exposed to the air to cool, weighed into parcels of a pound 
each, and by a press, with the force of a ton or two, made to assume 
the compact form of a tablet (the size of a small brick), in which 
shape, covered with tin foil, it is presented to the public. 

"Some of the solidified milk which had been grated and dissolved 
in water the evening previous, was found covered with a rich 
cream ; this, skimmed off, was soon converted into excellent butter. 
Another solution was speedily converted into wine whey, by a 
treatment precisely similar to that employed in using ordinary milk. 
It fully equalled the expectations of all ; so that solidified milk will 
hereafter rank among the necessary appendages of the sick-room. 
In fine, this article makes paps, custards, puddings, and cakes equal 
to the best milk, and one may be sure it is an unadulterated article, 
obtained from well-pastured cattle, and not the produce of distillery 
slops — neither can it be ivatered" 

Oil of butter is the name given to a good emollient, perhaps 
slightly astringent preparation, well adapted to treating the sum- 
mer complaints of children. It furnishes a good vehicle for the 
small doses of calomel or mercury with chalk, and opium, so much 
prescribed in that complaint. 

It is made by warming butter floating on water, and when it is 
fluid skimming it off for use. 

As an antidote, milk has the same applications as the albumen 
of eggs, and the gluten of flour. As a demulcent, it is a valuable 
substance in irritation of the pulmonary and digestive organs. It 
is also used on account of its demulcent properties in the prepara- 
tion of the bread and milk poultice. 

Wine whey (serum lactis vinosum) is described elsewhere; when 
taken warm and combined with sudorific regimen, it acts powerfully 
on the skin, and is valuable in febrile disorders. Cold, it is used 
as a gentle stimulant and nutritive diet. 

Fel bovixum, ox-gall, though not officinal, is occasionally pre- 
scribed in dyspeptic affections connected with habitual costiveness. 



ICHTHYOCOLLA — ISINGLASS. 259 

It is prepared for use by being heated and strained, and then eva- 
porated in a water bath, or by well managed radiated heat, to a 
pilular consistence. The dose, when thus inspissated, is from five 
to ten grains. 

Ox-gall is also much used as a detergent, and in a refined or 
clarified condition is adapted to the use of landscape painters as 
a delicate green pigment. 

Gelatin is obtained from bones, animal membranes, &c; 
although it has no existence in the vegetable kingdom, and does 
not belong to the protein group, it is conveniently considered in 
its practical bearings in connection with the foregoing ; it is offici- 
nal in ichthyocoMa (isinglass), which is found in commerce, prepared 
from the swimming bladder of the sturgeon and other fish. It is 
the basis of a variety of artificial preparations used as food ; it is 
soluble in water, and forms jellies, which are characteristic. Gela- 
tin is precipitated in an insoluble form by tannic acid, for which it 
is a test. Leather is tannate of gelatin. 

Ichihyocolla. (Isinglass.) 

A variety of articles are met with in our markets under the 
name of isinglass. One of the cheapest is that called fish glue, 
used almost exclusively for clearing coffee, as a substitute for white 
of egg ; this, I believe, is identical with the New York isinglass 
described as being prepared from the air-bladder of the common 
hake (gadus merluccius), which being macerated in water a little 
while, is then taken out and passed between two iron rollers, by 
which it is pressed into thin ribbons of several feet long, from an 
inch and a half to three inches in width. It is a very inferior 
variety, and is quite unfit for internal use. 

Russian isinglass is met with principally in the form of sheets, 
or folded into compact and twisted forms, called staples. Some- 
times it is in fine shreds. In sheets and shreds it is esteemed the 
best, but is very expensive, and on that account mostly superseded 
by the articles next to be described. 

Gelatin exists largely in bones and in the skins of animals, from 
which it is prepared for use in making the various popular forms 
of jelly. In this country, the principal kinds of gelatin are: 
" Cooper's refined American isinglass," and the transparent French 
gelatin. The former comes in sheets 9 inches long, and 3J wide, 
and about J- inch thick, in a very light opaque form, nearly white 
color, and marked with the nets on which they have been dried; 
sometimes these are cut up into small pieces. 

The French is in cakes which are rather smaller, very thin, and 
quite transparent, similarly marked by the drying nets ; sometimes 
it is imported in shreds, put up in boxes with directions for use. 
My experience is in favor of the French, over Cooper's. It is 
more readily clarified, and makes an equally good jelty. Some- 
times the French is colored red. 



260 THE PROTEIN AND SIMILAR PRINCIPLES. 

The principal cause of failure in the preparation of jellies from 
these is using a deficient quantity, which fault is due to the inde- 
finite character of the printed circulars accompanying the com- 
mercial articles, also to a deficient soaking of the gelatin pre- 
vious to making the jelly; this is made necessary by the slight 
taste it acquires at the surface or point of contact with the air and 
moisture. It should be soaked at least an hour in cold water, 
which should then be thrown away, and the gelatin, after draining 
a little, is fit for use. Calves' feet are still in request by some of 
the old school, who believe gelatin, as manufactured, to be alto- 
gether inferior; but these are apt to be deceived by the confection- 
ers, and it is impossible to detect the substitution by the properties 
or the effects of the jelly produced. 

Isinglass plaster is now made by several manufacturers in this 
country. The mode of preparing it is generally kept a secret. 
From some experiments with the article now in the market, I am 
convinced it is made from the common fish glue. It is a very 
popular and good article, despite the tendency to decompose which 
has been charged against it ; when this takes place, which is per- 
haps seldom, it produces inflammation of the exposed surface to 
which it is applied. Court-plaster is made by a similar process ; the 
old recipes direct calves' feet for its preparation; but on a large 
scale, it is probable some other form of gelatin is applied. The 
chief difference between it and the isinglass plaster in sheets 7 
inches wide, rolled and inclosed in boxes, is in the shape in which 
it is put up for sale. 

The original Liston's isinglass plaster or gum-cloth, was made by 
spreading several coats of strong solution of isinglass in very 
diluted alcohol over the surface of oiled silk, or, still better, over 
animal membrane, previously prepared for the purpose from the 
peritoneal membrane of the caecum of the ox. 

To make Court-Plaster or Isinglass- Plaster. 

Take of Isinglass Sj. 

Water fsviij. 

Dissolve with heat — 

Benzoin 5\j- 

Alcohol f5ij. 

Dissolve and strain. Mix the two solutions together, and, with 
a brush, apply several coats of this mixture, while it is kept fluid 
by a gentle heat to silk stretched on a frame; each successive coat 
being allowed to dry before applying the next. Then paint a layer 
of the following solution on the other side of the silk : — 

Venice turpentine .... oj. 
Tincture of benzoin . . . . f sij. 
Mix. 

Black and flesh-colored silk are both used for court-plaster. 



FERMENTATION". 261 

Os, U. S. (Bone.) 

Bones are officinal for their uses in the preparation of bone 
phosphate of lime, and the phosphates of soda and ammonia; they 
are also used in preparing animal charcoal. Bones consist of gela- 
tinous tissue, into which earthy and saline matters have been de- 
posited until they have acquired solidity and firmness. By soak- 
ing in muriatic acid, the phosphates and carbonates are dissolved, 
and the gelatin is left as a tough, flexible, nearly transparent mass, 
having nearly the same form as the bone. 



CHAPTER IV. 

FERMENTATION, ALCOHOL, AND THE ETHERS. 

Fermentation is the process, whether spontaneous or artificially 
induced, by which the ternary compounds considered in Chapter II. 
are decomposed, and resolved into more stable and unorganized 
forms. It has been stated, in describing these, that under the in- 
fluence of diastase, a peculiar principle found in germinating seeds 
and buds, the insoluble principle, starch, becomes converted into 
the more soluble dextrin and grape sugar; also that, under the 
influence of chemical agents, a similar change may be made to take 
place in lignin. 

Cane sugar, under the influence of any causes predisposing to 
fermentation, undergoes a change into the same proximate prin- 
ciple, which, in its relations to fermentation, is the most interesting 
and important of its class. 

Associated with these ternary principles, we find constantly in 
plants, nitrogenized or quaternary principles, treated of in the last 
chapter, which, by inducing these changes, are continually tending 
to the production of grape sugar and to its further metamorphose 
into alcohol and carbonic acid. 

The circumstances necessary to produce fermentation, are, a solu- 
tion containing starch or sugar, at a moderate elevation of tempera- 
ture, say from 70° to 90° F., which, however, rises as the process 
proceeds ; and a ferment, or nitrogenized principle itself in a state 
of decomposition or growth. The juice of the apple furnishes one 
of the most familiar illustrations of the presence of these conditions. 
We have in that liquid the ternary compounds associated with 
vegetable albumen, a nitrogenized material capable of playing the 



262 FERMENTATION, ALCOHOL, AND THE ETHERS. 

part of a ferment, and at the season of the year when the juice is 
extracted, the requisite elevation of temperature. As a conse- 
quence, fermentation takes place. The vegetable albumen absorbs 
oxygen from the air, runs into decomposition, sets the whole of the 
starchy and saccharine constituents of the juice to fermenting, and 
they are converted first into grape sugar, and then into alcohol, 
which is present in the resulting cider, and carbonic acid which is 
given off, producing the well-known frothing of the liquid. 

In the production of wine, we have another instance of sponta- 
neous fermentation — the expressed juice of the grape is simply set 
aside in large casks, where it undergoes spontaneously the necessary 
change ; if the sugar is in excess and the azotized matter deficient, 
a sweet wine is produced; if these proportions are reversed, 
and the whole of the sugar is changed into alcohol, a dry wine 
results. If the wine is bottled before the alcohol has been pro- 
duced in sufficient proportion to coagulate the albumen, the process 
goes on after it has been corked up, the carbonic acid is confined, 
and a sparkling wine results. 

The composition of alcohol is expressed by the formula C 4 H 6 2 , 
and its production by the decomposition of grape sugar is thus ex- 
plained; one equivalent of grape sugar = C 24 II 28 28 , is broken 
up into 4 of alcohol, C 4 II 6 2 + 8 of carbonic acid, C0 2 +4 of 
water, HO, thus 

4, C 4 H 6 2 - C 15 II 24 8 
8, C 2 = C 8 16 
4, II O = H 4 4 

24 28 28 

Or, adopting the view of Mitscherlich and Soubeiran, that fer- 
mentable sugar has the composition when perfectly dried, repre- 
sented by C 12 II 12 ]2 , it may break up into 2, C 4 H 6 2 and 4, C0 2 , 
without the production of water. 

In this change, the ferment appears to communicate the molecular 
change taking place among its particles to the starch and sugar in 
solution, which are here seen to suffer no increase nor diminution 
of the number of atoms they contain by the contact or its results. 

The acetic fermentation consists in the oxidation of alcohol by 
long exposure to the air in a very divided condition, or in contact 
with ferments, as when cider is allowed to remain in open casks 
until it passes into vinegar. Under the head of aceta the prepara- 
tion of vinegar for use as a menstruum in pharmacy is spoken of, 
as also its substitution by diluted acetic acid.- 

The lactic and butyric fermentations are produced in milk by the 
action of the nitrogenized principle, casein, upon sugar present in 
the whey. 

The viscous fermentation takes places in certain complex saccha- 



MALT LIQUORS, ETC. 263 

rine and mucilaginous mixtures by the action of fermentation ; its 
results are carbonic acid, hydrogen, alcohol, lactic acid, and mannite. 

Fermentation is artificially produced in the process of manufac- 
turing most of the spirituous liquors and beer; the insoluble 
yellowish viscid matter deposited from the infusion of malt in the 
process of making beer, called yeast, fermentum cerevisice, is the 
best substance for producing the catalytic change in starchy and 
saccharine solutions. Added to an infusion of rye and Indian corn, 
it produces, by fermentation, rye whiskey ; to potatoes ground to 
pulp and mixed with hot water, potato spirits ; to molasses, rum ; 
&c. In each case a portion of malt is used to facilitate the process 
by furnishing diastase. 

Malt is barley which has been steeped in water till much swollen 
and softened, and then piled in heaps, to undergo a species of fer- 
mentation, or rather germination, during which a portion of its 
starch has passed into sugar and become soluble, and the peculiar 
ferment before mentioned as diastase is produced; it is then kiln- 
dried, to destroy its vitality. 

Holland gin is manufactured from malted barley, rye meal, and 
hops, and distilled from juniper berries, to which it owes its flavor. 
The Scheidam Schnapps, now so extensively advertised, is under- 
stood to be Holland gin, of good quality. Common gin is rectified 
from turpentine. Arrack is the spirit from the fermentation of 
rice ; it is not met with in our commerce. 

Malt liquors are obtained by subjecting malt to infusion with 
water, mixing this with a due proportion of hops, which give the 
taste and tonic properties, and subjecting to the requisite fermenta- 
tion. Under the head of Medicated Wines, a recipe was given for 
wine of tar, or Jew's beer, a medicated, fermented liquor. 

The following recipe furnishes a very good and wholesome sum- 
mer beverage, which, without intoxicating, furnishes an agreeable 
stimulus in the debilitating summer weather of our climate. 

Ginger Beer. 
To make five gallons : — 

Take of Eace ginger (bruised) . . .4 ounces. 

Bitartrate of potassa . . .3 " 
Mix them. 

Directions. — Add to these ingredients, five pounds of loaf sugar, 
two lemons (sliced), and five gallons of boiling water. Let it stand 
twelve hours ; then add a teacupful of yeast to the mixture, and 
bottle immediately and securely. In a day or two it will be ready 
for use. 



261 



FERMENTATION, ALCOHOL, AND THE ETHERS. 



Pipsissewa Beer. 

The virtues of this excellent alterative diuretic are obtained in 
an agreeable form, by the following process : — 

Take of Pipsissewa (chimaphila, U. S) . 6 ounces. 
Water 1 gallon. 

Boil, strain, and acid — 

Brown sugar .... 

Powdered ginger 

Yeast 



1 pound. 
^ ounce, 
a sufficient quantity. 



Set it aside till fermentation has commenced ; then bottle it for 
use. Dose, a small tumblerful three or four times a day. 

In the same way, sarsaparilla, sassafras, uva ursi, and other medi- 
cinal substances, may be made into Cerevisice, or beers. 



Table of the Proportioi 


by measure, of Alcohol, sp. gr. .825, contained 


in 100 Parts of the Liquids named. 




WntES. 




WlXES. 




Port (strongest) 


. 25.83 


Cincinnati 


9.00 


" (weakest) . 


. 19.00 


Currant wine . 


20.55(?) 


Madeira (strongest) . 


. 24.42 


Gooseberry " . 


11.84 


" (weakest) . 


. 19.24 


Orange " . 


11.26 


Sherry (strongest) . 


. 19.81 


Elder "... 


8.79 


" (weakest) 


. 18.00 


Cider (strong) . 


9.88 


Teneriffe . 


. 19.79 


" (weak) . 


5.21 


Lisbon 


. 18.94 


Burton ale 


8.88 


Malaga 


. 17.2G 


Edinburgh ale . 


6.20 


Claret (strongest) 


. 17.11 


Brown stout 


6.80 


" (weakest) 


. 12.91 


London porter . 


4.20 


Malmsey . 


. 1G.40 


Small beer 


1.28 


Sauterne . 


. 14.22 


Brandy .... 


55.39 


Burgundy 


. 14.57 


Whiskey (Irish) 


52.20 


Hock 


. 12.08 


Hum .... 


53.68 


Champagne 


. 12.61 


Gin 


51.78 



These figures, which are compiled from the tables of Brande and 
others, are of course only approximative. They are believed, by 
pretty good authority, to be generally too high. 



Alcohol. 

This is obtained from spirituous liquors by distillation, which 
process has for its object the separation of the alcohol from the less 
volatile impurities associated with it in these liquids. These are 
chiefly coloring matters, water, and, in the case of whiskey, fusel oil. 
The rectification of alcohol has of latter years become a very ex- 
tensive branch of business, and has undergone great improvements; 
so that the product is both cheap and good as compared with the 
foreign article. Whiskey, as procured from the farmers, is generally 
the product of the distillation of fermented infusion of Indian corn, 
mixed with rye ; the smallest proportion of the latter ingredient 
that answers well is one part to two of the corn. A few distillers 



ALCOHOL. 265 

of alcohol make their own whiskey, but those in the large cities 
usually buy it. I am told that, in the western States, much of the 
whiskey is produced by the fermentation and distillation of the 
refuse from flour or grist mills. The whiskey is inspected by an 
officer appointed by the State government, whose business it is to 
condemn all which does not reach the standard strength — 50 per 
cent, of alcohol. The alcohol distillers have appropriate apparatus, 
consisting chiefly of large stills, some capable of taking a charge of 
60 gallons. These are chiefly made of copper, and consist of the 
body and head, which are connected with a furnace, and the worm, 
which is inclosed in an appropriate refrigerating tub. The whiskey 
being turned into the body, and the apparatus closed, heat is ap- 
plied, the vapor formed, passing into the cooler, is condensed, and 
runs out at the lower end. The first and last portions that come 
over are collected separately from the rest as of inferior quality, 
and the main body of the distillate is transferred to barrels which 
have been charred on the inside, and constitutes commercial alcohol. 

This is the most common variety in this country. It is called drug- 
gists' alcohol. It varies with the care used in its preparation, and 
especially with the heat employed. Sometimes, by urging the pro- 
cess too rapidly with a hot fire, the alcohol has too strong an odor of 
fusel oil, and is too weak ; the former may be detected by its odor, 
which reminds of whiskey, and the latter, by its sp. gr., which ex- 
ceeds the standard, .835. Sometimes it is discolored from deficient 
charring of the cask. 

Besides this quality, the common or old sort of deodorized alco- 
hol is made. For preparing this, the whiskey is submitted to ex- 
tensive filtration through long tubes containing charcoal, and is 
then distilled from a fresh portion of charcoal, which is placed with 
it into the body of the still ; the charcoal is suited by its property, 
noticed in a previous chapter, of absorbing odor and coloring mat- 
ters, for abstracting the fusel oil, and hence rendering the whiskey 
free from that impurity, while, by careful distillation, it is highly 
rectified and adapted to the purposes of the perfumer. Another 
quality is the absolute alcohol. The peculiarity in the preparation 
of this is the very moderate heat employed, and the consequent 
very slow distillation. It usually has about 95 per cent, of alcohol, 
and is very useful as a solvent of some articles which resist the 
ordinary commercial article. Castor oil is one of these ; when the 
alcohol is in small proportion, a perfect solution will not result, 
unless the so-called absolute alcohol is used. 

Atwood's patent, which is now used by several manufacturers, is 
a fine improvement in the preparation of alcohol. It requires the 
rectification of druggists' alcohol, by distilling it again from man- 
ganate of potassa, which effectually purifies it, and renders it unex- 
ceptionable. 

For some of the pharmaceutical facts in regard to alcohol, the 
reader is referred to the chapter on Tinctures. Chemically, alcohol 
is regarded as hydrated oxide of ethyl, as explained in the sequel. 



266 FERMENTATION, ALCOHOL, AND THE ETHERS. 



iETHEREA, U. S. Ethers. 

This class of organic derivatives is produced by the action of 
various chemical agencies on alcohol. Ethers are usually con- 
sidered as exclusively artificial products, bat numerous analogies 
lead to the idea that similar influences at work in the organic 
world give, especially in the ripening of fruit, birth to some of the 
delightful flavors so familiar in the vegetable kingdom. There is 
a familiar instance of the spontaneous production of a peculiar 
ether in the ripening of wines, under the influence of the slow and 
gradual fermentation which takes place, especially after the pro- 
duction of a considerable proportion of alcohol in the fermenting 
juice; in this case, the presence of an excess of tartaric acid may 
be concerned. The peculiar ether here formed, called cenanthic 
ether, or bouquet of wine (C ]8 H 18 3 ), has been isolated and exa- 
mined by Liebig and Pelouze. 

The artificial essences of banana, jargonelle pear, pineapple, &c, 
are instances of the attempted imitation of natural volatile princi- 
ples by artificially prepared ethers. 

The type of the class of ethers was called in our Pharmacopoeia 
of 1840, cether sulphuricvs, but is now, for the sake of brevity and 
simplicity, named as follows: — 

jEther, U. S. 

This is prepared by mixing alcohol and sulphuric acid in a glass 
retort or flask adapted to a suitable condenser, and applying a 
gentle heat; the very volatile ether, contaminated with a little alco- 
hol, is driven over at a low temperature, and collected in the 
receiver. This is the case as long as the requisite proportions are 
maintained ; but when the acid is largely in excess, which soon 
comes to be the case unless a continuous supply of alcohol is 
kept up, the boiling point rises, and other products are produced, 
among which is ethereal oil, to be referred to again as one of the 
constituents of Hoffmann's anodyne. 

The highly volatile and inflammable nature of ether makes its 
preparation very dangerous, except in establishments where every 
convenience and safeguard is provided. The direct application of 
flame to the retort or flask is attended with great danger, and in 
the event of a fracture or leakage occurring either in the retort or 
receiver, the proximity of fire might entail the most disastrous con- 
sequences. The ether of commerce is made exclusively by manu- 
facturing chemists, who produce it on a large scale. It is generally 
pure enough for most of the uses to which it is applied, though 
not for inhalation. Where alcohol is an impurity, it may be 
readily separated by shaking up the ether with water, which unites 
with the water, allowing the mixed water and alcohol to subside, 



MTB.ER. 267 

and pouring off the ether, it will now be what is called in com- 
merce washed ether, or hydrated ether. This contains about ten per 
cent, of water, and is the kind adapted for making tannic acid from 
galls. It is also pure enough for inhalation, as the presence in its 
vapor of the small proportion of vapor of water is no disadvantage 
to it. Hydrated ether is, however, not suited to dissolving gun 
cotton, nor to most of the uses of ether, as a solvent. 

To separate the water from it requires its redistillation from a 
solution of lime or potassa, which is also adapted to neutralizing 
any free acid which may have come^ over with it, or may have 
formed in it by the oxidizing action of the air. ■ 

The sensible properties of ether are familiar to most; it is color- 
less, very volatile, limpid, with a high refracting power, pungent 
taste, and a peculiar rather fragrant odor. Its proper specific gra- 
vity, when of standard purity, is .750 ; it may be reduced as low as 
.713. It is remarkable for the comparatively great specific gravity 
of its vapor, which is 2.586. 

It causes intense cold by its evaporation; the greatest reduc- 
tion of temperature yet produced is from, its admixture with solid 
carbonic acid. When ignited with air or oxygen, it explodes vio- 
lently. The great volatility of ether, the highly inflammable nature 
and high specific gravity of its vapor combine to make it a most 
dangerous substance to handle or even to decant, in the vicinity of 
flame. It should be kept in large quantities only in cold situations, 
as cellars where fire is never kindled, and should always be de- 
canted by daylight. Many disastrous accidents have happened 
from neglecting this precaution. 

Besides its property of dissolving ten per cent, of water, it is 
said to be dissolved by water to the same extent. Whether this 
is the case with pure ether, I think admits of a doubt. It dissolves 
most of the volatile oils and resins, and the fixed oils and fats, also 
iodine, bromine, phosphorus, corrosive sublimate, sesquichloride of 
iron, and some of the alkaloids, which it separates from their aque- 
ous solutions ; it dissolves also caoutchouc to a limited extent, and 
xyloidin and etheroxylin to an indefinite extent. 

The composition of ether is C 4 H 5 0. Much uncertainty has 
rested upon the manner in which these elements are grouped. This 
seems settled by the recent discovery by Dr. Frankland, of a com- 
pound radical ethyle, which has the composition C 4 H 5 , of which 
ether is undoubtedly the oxide, while alcohol is the hydrated oxide. 
The result of the action of sulphuric acid upon alcohol is then the 
separation, from each equivalent of alcohol, of one equivalent of the 
elements of water. 

Alcohol = C 4 H 5 0, HO, 
Ether = 4 H 5 0, 
Ethyle = C 4 H s . 

The complex reactions which take place during the passage of 



268 FERMENTATION", ALCOHOL, AND THE ETHERS. 

alcohol into ether under the influence of sulphuric acid, will be 
found fully described in chemical works ; they do not fall within 
the scope of this. 

Oleum JEihereum, U. S. {Heavy Oil of Wine) 

This officinal product of the decomposition of alcohol is rarely 
met with in commerce. It is a volatile liquid, resembling an essen- 
tial oil in consistence, having a yellow tint, a penetrating aromatic 
odor, bitter taste. It is insoluble in water, but dissolves readily in 
alcohol and ether; its mode of preparation has already been alluded 
to. It is supposed to have anodyne effects similar to those of 
ether, and is officinal in the Pharmacopoeia only with reference to 
the preparation of Hoffmann's anodyne. Some specimens I have 
met with were evident sophistications. 

Spiritus jEtheris Compositus, U. S. {Hoffmann's Anodyne) 

Take of Ether half a pint. 

Alcohol .... one pint. 

Ethereal oil ... three fluidrachms. 

Mix them. 

To the best of my knowledge, Hoffmann's anodyne is never made 
by this formula. This important preparation is made by a process 
which, in its very nature, is certain to give varying results. In the 
distillation of ether, as already stated, the resulting liquid is liable 
to vary according to the proportions of the ingredients in the 
retort. If the alcohol be in due proportion, and the boiling point 
consequently low, a tolerably pure ether will pass over ; but when 
the acid ingredient comes to be in large excess, sulphurous acid, 
water, and ethereal oil will come over. Now it is usual with the 
manufacturers to push the process as far as possible in the first 
instance, getting a product which contains ether, alcohol, and water, 
contaminated with a very small portion of ethereal oil. This is 
rectified by a second distillation, the first portion (as long as it 
comes over at or below 54° Baum^), being reserved as rectified 
ether. The less volatile products are now driven over, and are 
found to consist of ether, alcohol, and water, impregnated with 
ethereal oil. This is now made into Hoffmann's anodyne by mix- 
ing it with ether, alcohol, or water, as may be required to give it 
nearly the sensible properties of a standard specimen kept on 
hand. These properties, however, furnish a very poor criterion of 
quality to the manufacturer or to the consumer; the milkiness 
occasioned by dilution with water is varied by the relative pro- 
portions of alcohol and ether. If too much alcohol is present, this 
milkiness is deficient. If too much ether, the opalescence is not 



SWEET SPIEIT OF NITRE. 269 

diffused, the oil globules having a tendency to run together, and 
thus varying the appearance. Professor Procter analyzed five 
specimens of Hoffmann's anodyne, four from leading chemical manu- 
facturers, and one made by the officinal recipe. These he found to 
differ in sensible properties, in specific gravity, and in composition. 

While the U. S. P. specimen marked .8151, one of the others 
had a sp. gr. .8925, the others being intermediate ; one of the 
manufactured specimens contained very little ether, being chiefly 
alcohol and water ; another contained less alcohol, but more ether ; 
a third had less water than the others, but more alcohol than one, 
and more ether than the other ; while the fourth approached nearer 
the officinal proportions, though neither of them contained the full 
proportion of ether. The proportion of heavy oil of wine was not 
ascertained, as there is no known practicable method of estimating 
this. It was proved, however, that all the specimens but that by 
the officinal recipe were deficient in this ingredient. 

Notwithstanding these deficiencies in the commercial article, this 
medicine has a great and wide-spread reputation, and indeed there 
is no medicine of its class so much used ; it is prescribed for inter- 
nal use almost to the exclusion of ether, being adapted to admix- 
ture with aqueous solutions. 

Some of its favorite combinations will be found under the head 
of extemporaneous pharmacy. Its dose is from 20 drops to f 3j. 



Spiritus JEiheris Nitrici, U. S. (Sweet /Spirit of Nitre.) 

This is made by the action of nitric acid, evolved spontaneously 
from nitrate of potassa by sulphuric acid, on alcohol. It is collected 
by distillation, and purified by redistilling from an alkaline carbon- 
ate ; although found among the pharmaceutical preparations along 
with the other ethers in the Pharmacopoeia, like them, it is inva- 
riably made by the manufacturing chemist, and requires mention 
here mainly with reference to its composition, properties, and uses. 

Sweet spirit of nitre is a solution of nitrous ether (hyponitrite 
of oxide of ethyl, C 4 H 5 0,N0 3 ) in alcohol. It is a colorless, vo- 
latile liquid, of a fragrant fruity odor, sp. gr. .834, mixing in all 
proportions with water, alcohol, and ether. By being kept a long 
time it becomes acid, and may have a crystal of bicarbonate of 
potassa kept in the bottle. Aldehyde is an impurity which gives 
it a tendency to turn brown with strong solution of potassa. Much 
of the sweet spirit of nitre is of very deficient strength as regards 
its ethereal ingredient, being mixed with water and alcohol to suit 
the price charged. It is said that the term spirit, nitri dulc. is 
applied by some of the wholesale dealers to the weak article, and 
spirit, aether, nit. to the strong. If skilfully adulterated, its specific 
gravity would be preserved at about the normal standard, but to 



270 FERMENTATION, ALCOHOL, AND THE ETHERS. 

an experienced observer it would be deficient in trie proper odor, 
and the sweet and rather pleasant taste. In view of its use as a 
very mild diaphoretic and sedative, especially for children, its ad- 
mixture with alcohol is highly injurious as it is criminal. 

Uses. — Spirit of nitric ether is very extensively used as a mild 
refrigerant and diaphoretic; in febrile complaints, it is much com- 
bined for this purpose with antimonial wine, citrate of potassa, &c. ; 
as a diuretic it is much used in connection with the preparations of 
digitalis and squill. 

Its dose is from ten drops for a child to two fluidrachms for an 
adult. 

Chloroformum, U. S. 

This compound, the vapor of which is so largely employed for 
anaesthetic purposes in surgical and obstetric practice, while in the 
liquid form it is one of the most useful of chemical solvents, is pe- 
culiarly an American remedy ; it was first prepared in 1831, by 
Samuel Guthrie, of Sackett's Harbor, New York, and was first in- 
troduced prominently as an anaesthetic agent by Dr. Simpson, of 
Edinburgh; it is prepared according to the Pharmacopoeia by 
distilling alcohol from chlorinated lime, but is made exclusively by 
manufacturing chemists, and probably a by processes very much 
modified from that given in the books. 

It is a heavy colorless liquid, very clear and bright, sp. gr. 1.49, 
sp. gr. of its vapor 4.2. Its odor is fragrant, fruity ; its taste very 
sweet and pungent. It is very soluble in alcohol and ether, but 
not in water. It is a powerful solvent of camphor, caoutchouc, 
gutta percha, wax, resins, iodine, and of the vegetable alkaloids 
and neutral crystalline principles generally. Its property of dis- 
solving camphor in so large proportion, is one of its most remark- 
able peculiarities, and adapts it as a vehicle for that medicine. A 
solution of gutta percha in chloroform in the proportion of one 
drachm to the fluidounce forms a very mild and pleasant applica- 
tion to abraded surfaces and cuts, which is less adhesive than 
collodion, and does not contract in drying. Chemically, chloroform 
is the terchloride of formyle, having the composition C 2 H,C1 3 . 

Under the very incorrect name of chloric ether, a mixture of 
chloroform in ether, in the proportion of one part of the former to 
three of the latter, by measure, is much used as an anaesthetic agent, 
being considered by some surgeons less stimulating than ether, 
while its depressing effects are less marked than those of chloro- 
form. 

The chief use of chloroform and ether in medicine, is for the 
purpose of producing an anaesthetic or benumbing effect during 
surgical operations and parturition. This effect is produced by the 
inhalation of their vapors, which appear to be absorbed by the 



FIXED OILS AND FATS. 271 

blood, and, by acting on the nervous centres, suspend their func- 
tions. The quantity necessary to be inhaled varies in different 
individuals, though perhaps the most usual dose by the lungs is of 
chloroform f5j to f5iij, and of ether, flss to flij. Both these 
liquids are also given by the stomach, and used externally in ano- 
dyne liniments. 

The dose of chloroform by the stomach is from 20 to 60 drops. 



CHAPTER V. 



FIXED OILS AND FATS. 



The fixed oils and fats form so natural a group that they may 
be conveniently classed together, though both of vegetable and 
animal production. 

They resemble the preceding groups of ternary organic princi- 
ples in being nutritious in the sense in which that term applies to 
non-nitrogenized principles. The very large proportion of carbon 
they contain peculiarly adapts them to maintain by combustion in 
the lungs and capillaries, the heat required in the various processes 
of the economy. In medicine, they are used for this in connection 
with certain demulcent, alterative, and cathartic properties, pertain- 
ing to the particular individuals of the group. They constitute the 
chief vehicles for medicines to be applied externally, whether in 
ointments in which the oil is usually not decomposed, or in lini- 
ments and plasters, in some of which a decomposition of the oil is 
effected, as will appear in the sequel. The fixed oils enter largely 
into the food of animals, and of the human race ; they are accumu- 
lated particularly in the fruit and seeds of plants, and they exist in 
the straw and stalks as well as the seed of the cereal grasses, where 
they are associated with other nutritive materials. The following 
proportions of fixed oils have been ascertained to exist in the 
several substances named: in Indian corn, 8.8 per cent.; oats, 6.9 ; 
fine wheat flour, 1.4; bran from wheat, 4.6; rice, 0.25; hay and 
straw, from 3 to 5; olive seeds, 54; flaxseed, 22; almonds, 46; wal- 
nuts, 50; cocoa-nut, 47 ; yelk of eggs, 28; cow's milk, 3.13 per cent. 

Chemical History. — The fixed oi]s and fats differ from the fore- 
going ternary principles in being separable into several proximate 
principles, which have been pretty well studied. These are olein, 
stearin, and margarin. When a fixed oil is heated with a caustic 



272 FIXED OILS AND FATS. 

alkali, it is decomposed into glycerin with an organic acid which 
unites with the alkali and forms a soap. Thus olein is resolved 
into oleic acid and glycerin ; stearin into stearic acid and glycerin, 
and margarin into margaric acid and glycerin. 

M. Fremy has also shown that the oils, and neutral fatty bodies 
in general, are converted into fatty acids by concentrated sulphuric 
acid. 

Olein, oleate of glycerin, forms the fluid portion of fats and oils, 
and exists in nearly all of them. It remains liquid at a low tem- 
perature. Oleic acid, C 44 H 3Q 4 , is obtained by saponifying olein, 
and afterwards decomposing the soap by an acid, when it is set 
free as an oily, almost colorless liquid, lighter than water, with an 
acid reaction ; it unites with bases, forming salts ; those with alka- 
lies are soluble in water, those with other metallic oxides and with 
the earths are insoluble ; oleate of lead is the basis of lead plaster. 

Stearin, stearate of glycerin, forms the solid part of mutton suet 
and beef fat; and stearic acid, 2HO + C 63 H 66 J , forms salts simi- 
lar to those of oleic acid. 

Margarin, margarate of glycerin, enters into human fat, and into 
that of the carnivora ; it is also present in most vegetable fixed 
oils. Margaric acid is prepared from margarin, or by the action of 
nitric acid on stearic acid ; it is represented by the formula 2110, 
C 68 H fi5 6 , containing one equivalent more of oxygen than stearic, 
which it resembles in most of its properties. Margarate of lead is 
also present in lead plaster. 

Besides these principles, found in the most common oils and fats, 
there are others which may be mentioned, though of little practical 
utility to the physician or pharmaceutist. In palm oil, palmitic 
acid, C 32 H 31 3 ; in cocoa-nut oil, coco-stearic acid, 2110,02711^03; 
in the butter of nutmegs or oil of mace, myristic acid, HO,C 28 H 27 
3 , are all found combined with glycerin. 

Wax and spermaceti are complex products of the animal king- 
dom, somewhat resembling solid oils or fats, but destitute of gly- 
cerin. 

This subject brings into view the preparation of lead plaster, 
which is highly important to the pharmaceutist as the basis of 
most of the class of plasters which are for convenience introduced 
in this work among the extemporaneous preparations. 



Emplastrum Plumbi, U.S. Lead Plaster. (Oleo Margarate of Lead.) 

This is made usually on a large scale by manufacturing pharma- 
ceutists, some of whom make it, with its kindred preparations, their 
leading or exclusive articles of manufacture. 

The process for the preparation of lead plaster requires that olive 
oil (lard oil does not produce a nice product) should be boiled with 
finely powdered semivitrified oxide of lead (litharge), and water 



LEAD PLASTER. 273 

(the proportions are given in the Pharmacopoeia) for a long time, 
until they unite into a mass of a soft solid consistence, which is 
tenacious, and readily rolled upon a wet marble slab into rolls of 
suitable size, which are allowed to harden by maceration in a 
trough of cold water and subsequent exposure for a long time to 
the air; one gallon of oil yields about twelve pounds of plaster. 
The process is a tedious one, and requires to be pursued with strict 
reference to many precautions suggested by experience, which 
seem scarcely appropriate to a work of the scope and design of the 
present. 

Lead plaster is usually found in commerce, in rolls of various sizes, 
from half an ounce to half a pound in weight, called diachylon, 
simple diachylon, or lead plaster ; sometimes, though rarely, it is 
spread upon cotton cloth by machinery, and sold by the yard like 
adhesive plaster cloth. It is milder and less irritating in its action 
upon highly inflamed surfaces, though less adhesive than that well- 
known and useful application. Postponing to another chapter the 
practical details in regard to these, and the numerous compounds 
into which they enter, I need only refer here to the utility of gly- 
cerin as a constituent of emollient plasters, and to the fact that 
much of the lead plaster now made is deprived of this ingredient 
by long washing and kneading with water, and is hence peculiarly 
apt to become dry and crisp by age. 

Glycerin, 6 H 7 O s +HO, is a colorless, odorless, sweet liquid, re- 
sembling syrup, having a sp. gr. of 1.26, converted by nitric acid 
into oxalic acid ; it is generally stated to be a hydrate of the oxide 
of a hypothetical radical glyceryl, C 6 H 7 . Glycerin is separated 
from oils in the process of their saponification, and is readily obtained 
by evaporation from the water in which lead plaster has been made, 
care being taken to precipitate any lead held in solution, by sulphu- 
retted hydrogen ; it is, of recent time, much employed as a substi- 
tute for oils, having the remarkable property of mixing in all pro- 
portions with water and alcohol, though not with ether. A few of 
its medicinal applications may be mentioned in this place ; it is a 
most useful application in the dry and parched condition of the 
mouth so often present in disease, to which it may be applied either 
by painting it over the dry surface with a brush, or by swallowing 
it diluted with water. 

For a certain form of deafness resulting from dryness of the tym- 
panic membrane it is one of the best of remedies. It is used in 
certain scaly skin diseases, as lepra. It is a useful application to 
sore nipples, also to burns and excoriated surfaces, and is added 
to poultices to keep them moist. Its substitution for almond and 
olive oil, in the preparation of delicate ointments, is productive of 
no advantage. 

The idea has occurred to me of using it as a vehicle for subace- 
tate of lead, which, on admixture with common oils in Goulard's 
cerate, is always converted into a compound of the oil-acid with 
■ 18 



274 FIXED OILS AND FATS. 

oxide of lead; and, on admixture with water, as lead water, imme- 
diately commences to be decomposed, and to deposit carbonate of 
lead so that the solution in a short time becomes inert. By expe- 
riment, I find glycerin miscible in all proportions with liquor plumbi 
subacetatis, and have inserted, under the name of linimentum plumbi 
subaceiatis, a formula which I think an improvement on any of the 
old preparations of lead. 

There are two qualities of glycerin in our markets, that called 
English glycerin which is the cheapest, and is supposed to be made 
from the waters from which soap has been separated, and the other 
American glycerin, which is invariably collected as a residuary 
product from the plaster manufacture. The latter is the best, and 
commands nearly double the price of the former. English glycerin 
has a more or less disagreeable smell, which it seems impossible to 
separate from it. Some specimens have a saline taste, evincing im- 
portant impurities in view of the uses to which it is applied. The 
following recipe for the preparation of glycerin is given by Dorvault 
in IJOfficine, and is translated for the use of any who are disposed 
to experiment upon the production of this useful article, premising 
that the proportion of glycerin is so small that one gallon of oil only 
yields half a pound of this product: — 

Take of a fixed oil or fat sufficient. 

Saponify it by milk of lime. 

Separate the liquid from the insoluble lime soap ; add to the 
liquid sufficient diluted sulphuric acid to precipitate as sulphate 
the excess of lime held in solution. Evaporate by a water bath, 
and treat the residue with strong alcohol, which, on evaporation, 
will leave the glycerin. 

The lime soap which is here a residuary product, is, as far as I 
know, quite useless, and unless this can be made available for some 
purpose as yet unknown, this recipe will be deficient in the element 
of economy. 

List of the Fixed Oils and Fats used in Medicine. 
Adeps, U. S., lard.' Prepared fat of sus scrofa, or hog. 

StearTn^^ 8 ' 1 Pre P ared from lard h J expression. 
Sevum, U. S., mutton suet. The prepared suet of ovis aries. 
Oleum Aniygdalce, U. S. Fixed oil from kernels of fruit of A. Communis. 
Oleum Macidis, solid oil. From the arillus of the fruit of myristica moschata. 
Oleum Cacao, butter of cocoa. From the roasted seeds of theobroma cacao. 
Oleum Olivas, U. S., sweet oil. Oil of the fruit of olea Europea. 
Oleum Papaveris, poppy oil. From the seeds of papaver somniferum. 
Oleum Sesami, benne oil. From the seeds of sesamum indicum and orientale. 
Oleum Lini, U. S., flaxseed oil. From the seeds of linum usitatissimum. 
Oleum Bubulum, U. S., neat's-foot oil. From the bones of bos domesticus. 
Oleum Morrhuae, U. S., cod-liver oil. From livers of gadus morrhua. 
Oleum Cetacei. From cavity in the upper jaw of physeter macrocephalus. 
Oleum Ricini, U. S., castor oil. From seeds of ricinus communis. 
Oleum Tiglii, U. 8., croton oil. From 6eeds of croton tiglium. 
Oleum Palmge, a solid oil obtained from the fruit of elais guineensis. 



OILS AND FATS USED IN MEDICINE. 275 

Of the foregoing list several are quite bland, agreeable, and desti- 
tute of active properties ; of these, oleum divas, oleum amygdala?, 
oleum sesami, oleum papaveris, may be substituted for each other 
for internal use. 

Olive oil, of the finest quality met with in commerce, has a pale 
yellow or greenish color, and a very faint and agreeable odor ; its 
taste is bland and pleasant, though sometimes a little acrid ; its spe- 
cific gravity, at 77°, is stated at .9109. It is soluble in one and a 
half times its weight of ether, but almost insoluble in alcohol ; it 
generally contains a solid deposit of oleo-margarin in cold weather, 
which is readily fused by a slight elevation of temperature. The 
best always comes in bottles which hold from f^xij to f Ixxiv, or in 
small flasks covered by wicker work, which, after they are emptied, 
come in play for small chemical operations. The common unbot- 
tled oil is generally very impure, acid, and disagreeable, and often 
abounds in green coloring matter. 

Pelouze has lately investigated the subject of the acidification of 
fixed oils, and confirms the fact already known, that foreign sub- 
stances with which fatty bodies are contaminated exert the same 
action upon them that a ferment does upon saccharine fluids, setting 
free the fatty acids. He has also found that when oleaginous seeds 
are crushed so as to break up their cells and bring their contents 
into close contact; the neutral fatty bodies contained in them are 
spontaneously converted into fatty acids and glycerin. This phe- 
nomenon is analogous to what takes place in the grape, the apple, 
and other fruits, the sugar contained in which is converted into 
alcohol and carbonic acid as soon as the cells which separate it from 
the ferment are destroyed. When extracted immediately, these oils 
are perfectly free from any traces of acid. The difference in quality 
between good and bad olive oil is thus explained, the former being 
extracted before the lapse of time has allowed of this peculiar fer- 
mentative action. 

Almond oil is not always readily obtainable here; it has about 
the specific gravity of olive oil, and is without its green tinge of 
color, so that it generally makes a whiter ointment. It is generally 
imported in jugs. In selling and prescribing it care- should be 
taken that it be not confounded with the essential oil of bitter 
almond. 

Oil of Benne Seed. — Sesamum orientale has been produced in this 
country, and is recommended as a desirable production to add to 
our agricultural resources. The plant grows well, particularly in 
the South, and has been estimated to yield twenty bushels of the 
seed to the acre ; the yield of oil approaches two and a half gallons 
to the bushel. The seeds should be planted as soon as the frost is 
out of the ground in drills three feet apart, and six inches distance 
along the drills. 



276 FIXED OILS AND FATS. 

Poppy seed oil is not common in our markets except, perhaps, 
as an adulteration of the foregoing. 

Oleum adipis, oleum lini, oleum bubulum, oleum cetacei, and 
oleum palmas, are not used for any internal form of administration, 
but in common with olive and almond oil have their special adap- 
tations and uses in the arts, and for topical application in medicine. 

Lard oil, which is a very pure form of olein, when freshly and 
skilfully prepared, is seldom met with in commerce free from a very 
disagreeable rancid odor; on this account it is rarely employed in 
medicine. It is said to be largely exported for admixture with olive 
oil of inferior quality. 

Linseed or flaxseed oil is chiefly used to mix with the carbonates 
of lead and zinc in the manufacture of the pigments known as white 
lead and white zinc ; it is sometimes substituted for this use by a 
variety of inferior oils, which possess the same drying or oxidizing 
property. Boiled linseed oil, particularly if litharge or acetate of 
lead is mixed with it in boiling, is remarkable for the rapidity with 
which it dries into a hard varnish-like material. 

A fine oil is now extensively made by expressing ground nuts 
between hot plates in the same way that linseed oil is prepared. 
Its chief use, as far as I can learn, is to mix with linseed and olive 
oils. It should be thrown into commerce under its own proper 
name, and would no doubt answer many purposes both in the arts 
and in medicine. 

Neats-foot oil, as usually met with, is so offensive that it is only 
used in one officinal preparation, in which it is often substituted 
by lard or lard oil — unguentum hydrargyri nitratis. 

Spermaceti oil is the clearest and thinnest of the whale oils ; it is 
remarkably adapted for greasing heavy machinery, for which pur- 
pose it is in great demand ; it is also a fine oil for burning, but is 
never used in medicine or pharmacy, except by those few practi- 
tioners who believe it fully equal to cod-liver oil. 

Palm oil is consumed exclusively in the manufacture of soap, to 
which it imparts its peculiar odor and yellow color, of which, how- 
ever, it is deprived by exposure to air and light. 

Oleum ricini, oleum tiglii, oleum morrhuce, oleum macidis, and 
oleum cacao, are used as internal remedies. 

Castor oil is a viscid, transparent, light yellow-colored oil, specific 
gravity .9575, at 77°. Its taste and smeli, when of fine quality, are 
very slight, though its extreme viscidity renders it disagreeable. It 
is peculiar in being miscible with alcohol, though not in all propor- 
tions, as asserted by some. The two principal kinds are, the Ame- 
rican oil, which is produced principally in our Western States and 
comes in casks, and the East India oil, which is imported in tin cans 
from Bombay and Calcutta. The latter article is, I think, the best, 



CASTOR OIL. 277 

either from the constant agitation to which it is subjected in the 
hold of the vessel during a long voyage, a great part of the time in 
the tropics, producing a separation of its albuminous ingredient and 
thus clarifying it, or from some peculiarity in its preparation. A 
can of this oil is generally found cloudy near the bottom, while the 
upper portion may be racked off remarkably clear and free from 
odor and taste. It is put up by one of our most skilful pharma- 
ceutists, labelled Tasteless Castor Oil. 

The Palma Christi, which produces the valuable seed yielding 
this oil, is a beautiful annual plant, readily cultivated in our climate 
from the seed. It grows to the height of from six to ten feet with 
us, and is one of the most ornamental of annuals for garden or 
lawn. 

The seeds are powerfully acrid and cathartic. The activity of 
these and the oil depends upon a principle, said to be resinoicl, 
which is invariably present in it, and is modified by its bland de- 
mulcent properties. 

Great quantities of castor oil are consumed in the preparation of 
applications for the hair, it being now generally preferred to bear's 
oil, which was formerly much in vogue for this purpose. For 
greasing the hair, it should have a small admixture of alcohol to 
diminish its viscid properties, while for hair restoratives, such as 
are called katharion, tricopherous, &c, the alcohol is in larger pro- 
portion, the oil being added to diminish the drying and crisping 
properties of the spirits used. Two good recipes for these prepa- 
rations are given below — 

Perfumed Hair Oil. 

Take of Castor oil fix. 

Yery strong alcohol flij. 

Oil of jessamine f5ij- 

Mix. 

Any other essential oil may be substituted for oil of jessamine, 
and we usually label the vials according to their perfume, and color 
the rose oil red. 

Hair Restorative. 

Take of Castor oil fgvj. 

Alcohol fgxxvj. 

Dissolve, then add — 

Tinct. of cantharides (made with strong 
alcohol) f,lj. 

Oil of jessamine (or other perfume) . f siss. 
Mix. 

This preparation has the property of rendering the hair soft and 
glossy, at the same time that, by its tonic and stimulant properties, 



278 FIXED OILS AND FATS. 

it tends to arrest its premature decay. To accomplish this it should 
be rubbed thoroughly into the roots at least once a day. 

Croton oil, like the foregoing, is the product of the seeds of one 
of the family euphorbiacese. It is imported in bottles holding 
about twenty ounces. Its powerful irritant and drastic cathartic 
properties are well known. In applying it as a local irritant for 
producing a pustular eruption, it is usually diluted with twice the 
quantity of olive oil; it should then be carefully and conspicuously 
marked for external use. The use of croton oil mixed with castor 
oil, in the so-called castor oil capsules, is frequently the cause of 
violent purging, when a mild and pleasant effect was anticipated. 
The substitution in this way of a powerful for a mild and whole- 
some remedy in a popular form of medicine should be corrected by 
the interference of the physician and pharmaceutist. 

Cod-liver oil is largely prepared upon our New England coast 
and that of Newfoundland, in connection with the cod-fisheries. 
Three different commercial varieties are produced, which vary in 
quality according to the skill and care expended in their preparation. 
Pale cod-liver oil is prepared in New England by cutting up the 
fresh livers and throwing them into water in a large tank arranged 
for the application of heat. A fire being kindled, the oil rises to 
the surface and is skimmed off; by standing, even after being bar- 
relled, a deposit separates which allows of the clear oil being racked 
off. It is abundant in our markets within a few years, being used 
exclusively in medicine, and commanding a price, by the gallon, of 
from $2 50 to $3 00. 

The other most common variety is the dark brown oil. The 
livers being thrown into a heap exposed to the sun, are thus allowed 
to become decomposed, and the oil is collected as it flows out from 
the corrupting mass. The dark brown oil is rancid, having a dis- 
agreeable empyreumatic odor, and a taste which is bitter, beside 
being acrid, as in the other case. It is used extensively by curriers. 
Its price is usually about $1 per gallon. 

The pale brown cod-liver oil is intermediate in its properties 
between the foregoing; it is by some preferred to either, and by 
several consumers with whom I have met is said to disagree less 
with the stomach. This variety is not so common in commerce. 
Many dealers do not procure it at all. I have obtained it by the 
gallon at from $1 25 to §1 75 per gallon. There are all grades of 
quality between the finest and commonest oils. 

The following description of the Newfoundland manufacture, it 
will be seen, differs from that of New England, though the three 
varieties produced are here differently named ; it is compiled from 
an article by Dr. Edward H. Eobinson, Am. Journ. Pharm., vol. 
xxvi. p. 1. 

On the Banks of Newfoundland, the fish are obtained within 
from one to five miles from shore, and if the day be favorable, 



COD-LIVER OIL. 279 

the fisherman fills his boat (which is small) at least twice during 
the day. As soon as the boat is filled, they are taken on shore 
and handed over to women and children, who split the fish for 
drying, carefully putting the livers into a clean tub or some other 
article used for the purpose. All the fish being thus prepared, 
and spread on sheds to dry, the livers are carried to a cool place 
where they are kept until evening, by which time another boat 
load of fish has generally been obtained. Treating this second 
lot as the first, the livers are now all put together in a large 
shallow vessel of iron, usually about five feet square, and three in 
depth ; which vessel is again inserted into another and larger, which 
is set into masonry and partly filled with water. A fire is then 
kindled under the outer vessel and kept burning until the greater 
part of the oil has been separated from the livers. The fire is then 
extinguished, and, when cool, the oil is dipped out and introduced 
into new or clean casks. What oil remains in the livers is now 
pressed oiit, but not being of as good quality as that made without 
pressure, it is put into a separate cask, constituting an inferior 
quality. The casks containing the oil are now put in a cool place, 
and undisturbed for five or six days, at the end of which time a 
considerable sediment has fallen, leaving a pure oil on top, which is 
carefully drawn off and put into other casks; the oil is now fit to 
be sent into the market. This constitutes the best quality of cod- 
liver oil. The color of this variety is a pale-yellow, having a spe- 
cific gravity, at 63° F., of .9240; has a slight fishy taste, though not 
very disagreeable to most persons, leaving an impression of acridity 
on the fauces. In some parts, where the fisherman is too poor to 
purchase the water bath, the fresh livers are put into a common 
iron pot used for domestic purposes ; moderate heat is then applied. 
As soon as the livers are somewhat broken down and softened, they 
are taken from the pot and introduced into a coarse canvas bag, 
and, by pressure, the greater part of the oil is forced out. This 
variety is not of quite as fine quality as that made with the steam 
bath ; the color is rather darker, has a slight empyreumatic taste, 
and is apt to leave a peculiar burning sensation in the fauces when 
swallowed, which is perceptible some time after. Another variety, 
of an inferior quality, is made in larger vessel's which remain at sea 
for weeks together without going to the shore. The method of 
obtaining this variety is as follows : As fast as the fish are caught 
and dressed, the livers are thrown into barrels placed on deck, the 
tops of which remain uncovered. The livers are exposed to the 
action of the sun's rays, decomposition soon ensues, and the oily 
matter separates. That part which first rises to the top is skimmed 
off and put into a separate cask. The color of this variety is yellow 
approaching to a brown. It is commonly known as straits oil. 
The commonest variety of all is made from the remnants of the 
casks from which the straits oil has been drawn. In this variety 



280 ON VOLATILE OR ESSENTIAL OILS. 

complete putrefaction has taken place. It is of a very dark color, 
has an extremely offensive smell, and is more disagreeable than the 
other varieties. This is known as banks oil. 

The London Pharmaceutical Journal, October, 1853, announced 
that a patent has been recently obtained by Sir James Murray for 
a process by which cod-liver oil may be completely deodorized. 
This is accomplished by agitating it in high pressure cylinders with 
carbonic acid gas. None of the deodorized oil having yet found its 
way to this country, it is probable that some practical difficulty has 
prevented the success of the process. 

The composition of cod-liver oil, as inferred from the analysis of 
Dr. De Jongh, is similar to that of other fatty oils, with the excep- 
tion of a peculiar organic substance, called by him gaduin, and also 
some of the constituents of bile, with traces of iodine, bromine, &c 

More recently, Dr. F. L. Winckler has investigated its chemical 
nature, and regards this oil as an organic whole of a peculiar 
chemical composition, differing from that of all other fatty oils 
hitherto employed as medicines. According to this eminent chemist, 
it contains no glycerin, but by saponification yields oleic and mar- 
garic acids, and the hydrated oxide of a peculiar organic radical, 
propyle (C 6 H 7 ) ; existing also in ergot and in the liquor of pickled 
herring. From this, Dr. Winckler infers that cod-liver oil cannot 
be substituted by any other officinal oil. Propylamine (NH 2 C 6 H 7 ), 
a product of the reaction of ammonia on cod-liver oil, is also found 
by Winckler in normal urine and sweat; and, viewing its formation 
as probable by the reaction in the system by which cod-liver oil is 
assimilated and burnt up in the lungs, he founds upon this his 
theory of the utility of cod-liver oil in medicine. 



CHAPTER VI. 

OX VOLATILE OILS, CAMPHORS, AND RESINS. 

VOLATILE OR ESSENTIAL OILS. 

This highly important and interesting class of proximate princi- 
ples contains an immense number of individuals which are distin- 
guished from each other by striking sensible, as well as chemical 
and physical peculiarities. By far the largest number are derived 
from plants, in which they exist ready formed, although some are 
the products of a sort of spontaneous fermentative action set up 



ON VOLATILE OR ESSENTIAL OILS. 231 

among principles contained in the plants in the presence of water; 
others, of which creasote and oil of tobacco are instances, are pro- 
ducts of the destructive distillation of organic substances. The 
natural volatile oils, to which attention is now turned, are mostly 
prepared by mixing plants or parts of plants containing them with 
water, and, after maceration for a certain length of time, subjecting 
the mixture to distillation. The distillate is usually milky, and on 
standing separates, the oil rising to the top, or, in a few instances, 
subsiding ; an unpleasant empyreumatic odor, at first perceived, 
passes off by time. Although the boiling point of these oils is 
much above that of water, many of them are readily volatilized in 
contact with steam at 212°, and are hence conveniently prepared 
in the way above described. 

Some highly odoriferous plants which yield by this process very 
sparse and unsatisfactory results, are found to impart their volatile 
oils better by digesting with fixed fatty bodies, which, when treated 
with strong alcohol, yield the volatile oils to that solvent, forming 
essences. Numerous oils or essences used in perfumery are pre- 
pared in this way. Others are prepared by direct expression from 
the vessels containing them, as the oils obtained from the rind of 
the lemon and bergamot fruits ; while others are obtained asso- 
ciated with their resins and camphors by the use of ether. 

The volatile oils are mostly soluble in water to a very limited 
extent, though sufficiently so to give to it their characteristic flavors. 
They are mostly soluble to an unlimited extent in alcohol, ether, 
and the fixed oils. 

The perfume of most plants is due to the gradual elimination 
(and oxidation ?), in very minute quantities, of their volatile oils, 
which is said to take place only in the presence of moisture. Ac- 
cording to Liebig, the perfume of essential oils is strong in propor- 
tion to their tendency to oxidize in the air. Certain oils containing 
no oxygen may be temporarily deprived of their characteristic 
odors by distillation from freshly burnt lime in an apparatus ex- 
hausted of air or filled with carbonic acid gas. The odor of essen- 
tial oils is apt to be less delicate or grateful after they have been 
isolated than when spontaneously exhaled by the plant, and it is 
well known that by time and exposure many of them not only lose 
their delicacy of flavor, but become less limpid, assuming a darker 
color and more resinoid consistence, and hence should be purchased 
in small quantities and preserved in well-stopped bottles. In the 
process of drying certain plants at a moderate heat, the oil seems 
to improve in flavor, while very little of it is dissipated, so that the 
aromatic seeds, as of fennel and caraway, the unexpanded flowers of 
clove, &c, as found in commerce, yield full proportions of essential 
oils, and of finer quality than the imported, as obtained from them 
when fresh. 

The adulteration of essential oils is not unusual, the high price 



282 ON VOLATILE OR ESSENTIAL OILS. 

which they generally command furnishing the incentive to mix 
them with fixed oils, with alcohol, and with other and cheaper 
essential oils. The mode of detecting these adulterations is as 
follows : — 

With Fixed Oils. — Oils thus adulterated leave upon paper a 
greasy spot, which remains even after long-continued heating over 
the flame of a lamp. "When the mixture is distilled with water, 
the volatile oil passes over while the fixed oil remains, and may be 
saponified with alkali. On dissolving the volatile oil in three times 
its measure of strong alcohol, the greater part of the fixed oil 
remains undissolved. 

With Alcohol, — When the proportion of alcohol is considerable, 
the greater part of it may be extracted by water, the liquid becom- 
ing turbid. The quantity of alcohol is shown approximately by 
shaking the adulterated oil with an equal bulk of water in a minim 
measure or test tube graduated for the purpose, and observing the 
diminution of its volume. Into a graduated tube two-thirds filled 
with the oil some pieces of chloride of calcium may be introduced, 
and a gentle heat applied for a few minutes with agitation. If no 
alcohol is present, the lumps of chloride of calcium appear unal- 
tered on cooling. If it contains alcohol, they will show a disposi- 
tion to coalesce, and if it is in considerable proportion, a fluid layer 
will separate at bottom, on which the oil will float. This is espe- 
cially applicable to oil of lemon, of which 480 grains mixed with 
15 of alcohol liquefies 3 grains of chloride of calcium. Another 
test is furnished by the fact that a pure volatile oil mixes perfectly 
with olive oil, whereas, if alcohol be present, a turbid mixture is 
produced. 

With other Essential Oils. — The chief reliance in detecting this 
common adulteration is in observing the odor produced by tritu- 
rating a small quantity on the hand and noticing the odor after it 
is dried, or in setting fire to a small portion and blowing it out 
again, when the foreign odor may generally be perceived. If, on 
agitating the suspected oil with its own bulk of strong alcohol, it 
is not completely dissolved, probably oil of turpentine, or some 
other rather insoluble oil, is present. 

Most volatile oils are compound, consisting of two isomeric oils, 
or of a light hydro-carbon and a heavier oil (sometimes a camphor), 
containing oxygen. The lighter and heavier oils are distinguished 
by their different volatility. When distilled, the boiling point is at 
first low, but rises as the quantity of the more volatile oil diminishes, 
till at length it no longer rises, but remains constant. 

The solid crystalline, camphor or stearoptin, is usually a com- 
pound of the carbo-hydrogen oil with the elements of water, and 
exists in solution in the more fluid oil, which deposits it on being 
refrigerated. In some instances, as oil of aniseed and the pure 
attar of rose, it is conspicuous at ordinary temperatures. The vola- 



ON VOLATILE OR ESSENTIAL OILS. 283 

tile oils which are free from oxygen are specifically the lightest; 
their specific gravity varies from .758 to .990. 

The oxygenated volatile oils containing the camphors or stearop- 
tines, vary in density from .810 to 1.170. In the solid state, as 
produced by intense cold, they have a tendency to the crystalline 
form ; in the fluid condition, they are very thin, mobile, and, with 
a few exceptions, as oils of chamomile, buchu, and cajeput, which 
seem to be associated with a volatile coloring matter, are nearly 
colorless. 

The brownish color old oils sometimes exhibit is due to resin 
contained in them, and is frequently produced by exposure to the 
air ; this may be separated by redistilling the oil with water. 

Of the volatile oils of commerce, a large number are too crude 
and imperfectly prepared to be regarded as definite chemical com- 
pounds, and as such studied in their physical and chemical rela- 
tions ; the results of the analysis of these, as given by chemists, are 
various and even conflicting. In describing them, therefore, refer- 
ence must be had to their most characteristic principle, which is 
usually the heavier oxygenated oil, while the lighter hydrocarbon 
is destitute of decided and constant physical peculiarities. 

Although the tendency of most essential oils, on the absorption 
of oxygen, is to pass into resins, there are some which produce well 
characterized acids. These are both of the class which exist ready 
formed in plants, and of those which are produced by a species of 
catalysis or fermentation set up under certain circumstances among 
principles contained in them. The oils of bitter almonds, of gaul- 
theria, of valerian, of cinnamon, and of cloves, are acidifiable oils. 
In works on organic chemistry, these will be found noticed in de- 
tail in connection with their mode of formation, chemical relations, 
and theoretical composition. In a limited essay of this kind, it 
will be quite sufficient to give, by way of illustration, three series 
of this kind of compounds, with a tabular view of their composi- 
tion. 

Highly rectified oil of turpentine has the composition O 20 H 15 
(or C }0 H 8 ), which is a radical, forming, in combination with hydro- 
chloric acid, a peculiar solid substance called artificial camphor, while 
camphor, and camphoric acid, which is formed by the oxidizing 
action of nitric acid on camphor, are traceable to a common base. 

Caniphene, rectified oil of turpentine . . C 20 H ]6 . 

Camphor, solid product of camphora officinarum C 20 H ]6 O 2 . 1 
Camphoric acid, oxidation of camphene . . C 20 H 16 O 3 . 

The oils of cinnamon and bitter almonds, as shown in the follow- 
ing tables, are closely allied to the vegetable acids found in rue, 
the balsam of tolu, &c. : — 

1 Borneo camphor has the composition C 20 H 18 O 2 . 



284 



ON VOLATILE OR ESSENTIAL OILS. 



Benzyle, Bz, (isolated) C I4 H 5 2 . 

Hydruret of Bz, oil of bit. almonds . . . C 14 H 5 2 -f-H. 

Oxide of Bz, Anhydrous benzoic acid . . C 14 H 5 2 -f-0. 

crystallized " ... C M H 6 2 +0-f HO. 



Cinnamyle, Ci, (hypothetical) . 
Hydruret of Ci, oil of cinnamon 
Oxide of Ci, cinnamic acid 



C 18 H 7 2 . 

C I8 H 7 O a +H. 

C 18 H 7 2 +0. 



Carbo-Hydrogen Essential Oils. 

The most simple group of essential oils is that which consists of 
carbon and hydrogen alone. Some of these have been already 
referred to as frequently associated with the oxygenated essential 
oils. There are a number produced by plants and obtained by 
distillation. The coniferae, aurantiacice, and piperaceae yield nearly 
all that are known. Although these are so similar in composition, 
they are, as usually obtained, as dissimilar in many of their proper- 
ties as they are unlike the members of the oxygenated group. As 
already stated, when absolutely pure and exposed to no oxidizing 
influences, they are quite inodorous, and it is impossible in this 
state to distinguish oil of lemon from oil of turpentine, or oil of 
juniper from oil of neroli. As soon as they are exposed to ordi- 
nary external influences, however, they develop their characteristic 
odors and become less limpid and colorless. As a class, they are 
the least soluble in alcohol and in water. Several of them are 
among the most useful of vegetable stimulants. The composition 
of the carbo-hydrogen essential oils is C 20 H 16 , or C I0 H 8 , or some 
multiple of C 5 H 4 . 



List of Carlo- Hydrogen Essential Oils {Isomeric). 




Bp. gr.' 


Remarks. 


Oil of turpentine 


.86 


See camphene series, p. 283. 


" savine 


.915 


From juniperus sabinae. 


" juniper 


.911 


From juniperus communis. 


" cardamoms 


.943 


Yield 4.5 per cent. (?) 


" lemon 


.847 


From fruit of citrus limonum. 


" cedrat 




From flowers of citrus medica. 


«« neroli 




From flowers of citrus bigaradia. 


" bergamot 


.885 


From fruit of citrus bergamia. 


" orange 




Expressed from the rind : very oxidizable. 


" cubebs (C 15 H ]2 ) 


.929 


See cubebin. 


" copaiva 


.878 


Associated with an acid resin. 


" pepper 


.993 


See piperin. 


" ginger (?) 


.893 


Associated with acrid resin. 


" amber 


.758 


By oxidation, succinic acid. 


" cloves (light) 


.918 


See oxygenated oils. 


" valerian (light) 




See oxygenated oils. 



Mostly at 72° Fahrenheit. 



OXYGENATED OILS. 285 



Oxygenated Oils. 



A very large number of oxygenated oils are known to exist, 
although, according to the views of some, many of this class con- 
sist of members of the former class combined with peculiar cam- 
phors. Others have regarded members of this series as oxides of 
oils of the carbo-hydrogen series ; but, as their actual composition 
is not well established, it will be sufficient, in most instances, to 
present their ascertained empirical formulae. Many important 
members of this class are obtained from the natural families Um- 
belliferas, Labiatas, Lauracese, and Compositse, but they are very 
widely diffused in other divisions of the vegetable kingdom. 

The oxygenated oils, like the foregoing, are mostly local and 
general stimulants : some of them are of the kind called carmina- 
tives, used to expel wind in colic ; others are stomachics, promoters 
of digestion ; a few, from their influence upon the brain, rank as 
antispasmodics. Not a few of both this and the foregoing are 
chiefly valued as perfumes, whether for the toilet or in pharmacy. 

Most of the spices, as nutmeg, mace, pimento, cloves, contain 
oxygenated oils, which, in connection with peculiar camphoraceous 
or resinous ingredients, give them their value as condiments or 
seasoners. 

The herbs used in soups and stuffings, and rendering savory 
many otherwise tasteless dishes, all contain essential oils, and most 
of them of this series. It will be observed that none of the essen- 
tial oils rank as narcotics, except in over doses, though those of 
camphor, valerian, serpentaria, &c, as before stated, are used as 
cerebro-spinal stimulants and antispasmodics. 

As a class of essential oils, the oxygenated are the most soluble 
in water, and enter into the Aquce Medicatce introduced among the 
Galenical preparations. 

In attempting to embody the leading facts in regard to the oxy- 
genated essential oils in a table, I have not sought to make a com- 
plete list of this immense class, but have omitted many which are 
unimportant, and of which little is known, while a few are intro- 
duced that modify greatly the properties of the drugs containing 
them, though rarely met with in commerce. The composition and 
specific gravity, when given, must be taken as approximations 
only, since great discrepancies exist in the published statements. 
The latest editions of Pereira, and Wood and Bache, and the more 
recent and theoretical treatises of Gmelin and Ldwig, as well as 
Dr. Garrod's late work on materia medica, have been used in com- 
piling them, and such botanical and therapeutical facts as are 
capable of being presented in this way, are introduced. 



286 



ON VOLATILE OR ESSENTIAL OILS. 



List of Oxygenated Essential Oils. 




Yield from 


Sp. gr. 


Composition and remarks. 




the drug. 






Oil of anise (seed) 


2 per ct. 


.976 


C I0 H 6 O. (?) Solid at 35° to 50°; 
melts at 62° F. Umbelliferse. 








" absinthium 




.972 


C 20 H ]6 O 2 . Isomeric with camphor. 


" almonds (bitter) 


1.35 per ct. 


1.052 


See p. 284. Contains Prussic acid 
C 2 NH. Narcotic poison. 


" asarum Canadense 






Light colored ; fragrant. 


" asarum Europreum 


.63 per ct. 




CgH.,0. Camphor, C 8 H.0 2 . 
Oil of yarrow; color blue. 


" acliillea millefolium 




light 


" buchu 


.66 per ct. 


light 


Yellowish brown. Diuretic. 


" cajeput 


small 


.927 


C 20 H !8 O 2 . Green. Stim., antispas. 


" canella 


small 


heavy 


With resin and bitter extractive. 


" caraway 


4.7 per ct. 


.931 


Umbelliferse. Much used in pharm. 


" catnep 


small 




The active carminative principle. 


" cascarilla 


1.2 per ct. .938 


Contains a C ]0 H 8 oil. Used for 
fumigation. 


" cloves (heavy) 


18perct. 1.061 


\C O4 H„0 s . (?) Caryophyllic acid. 
j Boils at 470° F. Acidifiable, form- 




(crude) 


1.079 








ing with alkali crystalline salts. 


" chenopodium 


2 per ct. 


.908 


C 20 H )6 O 2 . Anthelmintic. 
Ombelliferse Diuretic stimulant. 


" carrot (seed) 


12 per ct. 


.886 


" cassia 




1.09 


"1 Impure hydruret of cinnaniyle. 
) C 18 H 7 2 +II. See p. 284. 


" cinnamon 


.62 per ct. U 


" chamomile 




.908 


^20*1 i6~H'jo*VV Blue. Composite. 
C 20 H 18 O 2 Unibcllifera. Used in con- 


" coriander 




.811 








fectionery. 


" cumin 






Do. Rubefacient. 


» dill 


3.5 per ct. 


.881 


Do. Carminative. 


" erigeron Canadense 




.845 


Composita?. Antihemorrhagic. 


" erigeron Philadelph. 


very small 




Do. 


" filix mas 


6.9 per ct. 




Crude. Very complex. Anthelmint. 


" fennel (seed) 


2.5 per ct. 


.997 


C 13 H 8 2 . Umbelliferce. 


" gaultheria 




1.173 


Boils at 412°. Solid by KO. 1 


" hedeoma 




.948 


American pennyroyal. Carminat. 


" hops 


2 per ct. 


.910 


C 2o H ig+C 2 o H is 2- 3 Seesulph. oils. 


" lavender 


1.5 per ct. 


.898 


C, 6 H l4 2 . Sp. gr. .877 when rect. 


" marrubium 






Associated with bitter principle. 


" matico 






Antihemorrhagic. do. do. 


" matricaria 






German chamomile. Composit;,'. 


** melissa 


very small 




Oil of balmmelisse. Reddish yellow. 


" mint (pepper) 


.5 per ct. '.' 




C^II,,/).,. Boils at 365°. Labiatac. 


" mint (spear) 


.5perct. . .975 J 


C 3 ,H 28 0. Boils at 320°. do. 
Solid at 40° F. Rubefacient, do. 


" raonarda (horsemint) 




" nutmeg 


.95 


Associated with fixed oil or fat. 


" origanum 


0.5 per ct. .867 


C 5o H 4o°- Boils at 354 °- Bobefac't. 


" pimenta (allspice) 


4 per ct. 1 1.021 


Myrtacese. Pungent, stomachic. 


" pulegium 


1 per ct. .978 


C ]0 H 8 O. European pennyroyal. 


" rose (attar) 


very minutel .832 2 


Stearoptin at low temperatures. 


" rosmary 


I .911 


C 45 H s „0 2 . Boils at 365°. Rubef. 


" rue 


very small ■ .837 


C 28 H 2s°3- Boils at 440 °- Anti - 
spasmodic and emmenagogue. 


" salvia 


very small 1 


C,2H l0 O+C 18 H I5 O 2 . 


" sambucus (elder) 


very small 1.09 


Mild stimulating properties. 


" sassafras 


2 per ct. 




C 10 H 5 2 . Boils at 440°. 

With resin and bitter principle. 


" serpentaria 




.758 


" tanacetum 






Yellowish green, deposits a camph. 


" valerian (heavy) 




.934 


Valerole C l2 H, O 2 . Cam. C 20 H 19 O 2 .« 






By oxidation, val. acid. 


1 Salicylate of methylene (C a 

2 At 90° Fahrenheit. 


3 3 0,C I4 H 5 5 ) 


, artifi 


:ially prepared from pyroxylic spirit. 



3 This oxygenated oil is isomeric with oil of cajeput (Wagner), and oil of coriander 
(Kawalier). * This camphor is said to be isomeric with Borneo camphor. 



CAMPHORS. 287 



Sulphuretted Oils. 



The members of this class have no chemical relations to the 
foregoing ; they are not numerous. The oils of mustard and of 
horseradish are developed by spontaneous reaction of principles 
contained in the plants, while the other pre-exists in the plants 
from which it is obtainable by distillation. 

Oil of Mustard (sinapis nig.) . . . C 8 H 5 NS 2 
" Horseradish (armoracia) . . " 

" Garlic or onion (alium) . . C 6 H 5 S 2 . 

" Assafetida " 

These maybe represented as compounds of a hypothetical radical, 
allyle, C 6 H 5 ; of this mustard oil is a sulpho-cyanide, C 6 H 5 , C 2 NS 2 , 
and oil of garlic a sulphide, C 6 H S S. The essential oil of hops, 
formerly believed to contain sulphur, is found not to belong to 
this class. These oils possess medical properties adapting them to 
the treatment of nervous diseases, in which respect they differ 
from most of those of the other classes. 



Camphors. 

This class of solid crystalline substances has a close relation to 
the essential oils. Common camphor, the type of the class, is ob- 
tained from an evergreen-tree growing in China and Japan, the 
roots and twigs of which are cut into chips and placed with water 
into large iron vessels surmounted by earthen capitals, furnished 
with a lining of rice straw. A moderate heat being applied, and 
the camphor volatilized by the steam, it collects upon the straw in 
a crude and impure condition, and is collected and packed for ex- 
portation as crude camphor. It is refined by resublimation, and 
then constitutes the valuable and characteristic drug so familiar to 
almost every one. As already stated, camphor is an oxide of the 
radical C 20 H 16 , and one of the so-called camphene series. 

Some of the essential oils are capable of depositing camphors by 
exposure to extreme cold, while others can be converted into cam- 
phors by solution in water and long exposure. The carbo-hydro- 
gen constituents of these combine with the elements of water to 
form a sort of hydrates, which appear to be true camphors. These 
are solid, colorless, crystalline fusible bodies, less volatile than the 
essential oils, soluble in alcohol and ether, and partially in water. 

According to Lowig, ordinary camphor exists in solution in 
the crude oils. of lavender, rosemary, spearmint, and origanum; it 
is also produced by the action of nitric acid on oil of sage. Its 
composition is C 20 H 16 O 2 . Lowig describes numerous camphors, of 
which the following are illustrations : Lemon camphor, a compound 

but, by 



288 ON VOLATILE OR ESSENTIAL OILS. 

being heated, loses two atoms of water. Juniper-berry water, 
treated with caustic potassa, yields a camphor =C 20 H 20 O 4 . The 
crude oil distilled from parsley seed, dissolved in water, after a 
few days, deposits a camphor =C 12 H 7 4 . If cloves are digested 
with alcohol, after a little time crystals are deposited, which are 
soluble in water, fuse at 626° F., and volatilize at 554° F., and dis- 
solve with blood-red color in sulphuric acid. 

Some of the substances usually treated of as neutral crystalline 
principles are classified by the German chemists as camphors ; of 
this number cantharidin, the active principle of Spanish flies, and 
nicotianin, one of the constituents of tobacco, may be instanced. 
There is much obscurity now connected with the precise habitudes 
and relations of the indifferent crystalline principles associated with 
oils and otherwise distributed in plants. 

Kesins. 

The resins are very extensively diffused in the vegetable king- 
dom, being generally present in every plant containing an essential 
oil, as also in many which do not. The idea of a resin is rather 
vague, but we may, in a general way, describe among this class all 
substances which are solid at ordinary temperatures, fuse readily 
by heat, do not volatilize unchanged, become negatively electric 
by rubbing ; are insoluble in water, soluble in alcohol, and partially 
so in ether and oil of turpentine. They are mostly inodorous, and 
are readily incorporated with fatty bodies by fusion. They are 
not, as a class, disposed to crystalline forms, being mostly amor- 
phous. 

The origin of resins is mostly in the oxidation of essential oils, 
which may occur, as in the case of turpentine and copaiva, in the 
plants producing them, or after their extraction, as stated under the 
head of essential oils. To this fact may be traced their mixed 
character. The volatile oils being usually mixtures of two or more 
oils, the resins are apt to be constituted of several similar though 
not identical resins. By treatment with alcohol, ether, oil of tur- 
pentine, &c, the different constituents can generally be separated. 
Many of the resins — those containing most oxygen — play the part 
of acids, and are, in fact, designated as such ; these form with alkali 
compounds, some of which are soluble and others insoluble in 
alcohol, while some are quite indifferent to the action of alkali. 
Some so called soft resins possess strong odors ; these are usually 
imperfectly oxidized, and contain portions of essential oil. 

Resins generally resemble the corresponding essential oils in 
their stimulating effects, though there is a group of them which 
may be termed acrid resins, including the cathartics. A few of the 
gum resins are adapted, by their control over the nervous system, 
to use as antispasmodics. 

As the object of this chapter is to convey a general view of the 



KESINS. 289 

prominent resinous substances entering into the Materia Medica, 
without any extended details, a tabular statement of some of the 
leading points in their history may suffice. 



I. Resins Proper. 

Composition and re 
Resina, U. S. Colophone, from Terebinthina, J Silvic acid, C 40 H 30 O 4 . Crystalline. 

U. S. \ Pinic acid, C 40 H 30 O 4 . Amorphous, 

Mastich. Exudation from Pistacia lentis- J C 40 H 31 O 4 . Very soluble in alcohol. 

cus. \ C 40 H 31 O 2 . Not very soluble in alcohol. 

Copal. Exudation from different trees. { gjog-g.; ^ TatTo!. 

60 per cent, acid resin. Soluble in cold 
alcohol. 

Indifferent resin. Soluble in 
horalcohol. 12.5 volatile oil. 



Elemi. Exudation from tree. 



f 60 per c< 
! alcoho 
1 C, n H„0. 



Sandarac. Exudation from Thuya articu-f £«& 'n 6 ' Easily soluble in alcohol 
, ■{ C Jn H 51 5 . Not easily soluble in alcohol. 



lota l v w 3r _ 

iata - ( C 40 H 30 O 6 . Soluble in boiling alcohol. 

Pix Canadensis, U.S. Prepared concrete 1 „.,,.••.. ^ ~ ,.., ., 
juice of Abies Canadensis. } Sma11 P ro P ortlon ° f ™^ tlle <>*■ 

Pix Burgundica, U. S. Prepared concrete j g ^ tion of Tolatile oiL 

juice of Abies excelsa. J r x 

f 18.7 per cent, soft resin. Soluble in 
| ether and ammonia. 

Guaiaci resina, U. S. Concrete juice of 58 ; 8 J^ cent Soft resin - Soluble in 
Guaiacum officinale. 1 n g per cent hard regin- goluble in 

J ammonia. 

[ Trace benzoic acid. 
„ . „•„• -; ... . c -i t\r, f 2 resins ; volatile oil ; succinic acid and 

Succmum, U S. Fossil resin. Sp. gr. 1.07. < bitumen 

„ . . . , „ n ., ■- fr a f C 4n H„ n O. Associated with indifferent 

Copamc acid, from Copaiba, U. S. | ^ 4^ ^^ ^ 



II. Oho- 

Terebinthina, U.S. The juice of Pinus palustris and / 17 per cent, volatile oil. 
other species of pinus. (White turpentine.) \ Eesina, U. S. 

( 18.6 per cent, volatile oil. 
| 40 per cent, resin, soluble 
Terebinthina Canadensis, U. S. From Abies balsamea. I in alcohol. 

(Balsam of fir.) | 33.4 per cent, sub-resin, 

\ with difficulty soluble in 
[ alcohol. 
Terebinthina veneta. From Larix Europsea. J 20 per cent, volatile oil. 

(Venice turpentine.) \ Resin. 

. . . . „ ,„ ^ » x ■ i v ' t. • f 31 to 80 per ct. volatile oil. 

Copaiba, U.S. (Sp. gr. .916 to 1.) From various I 16 £ goft brownresin . 

species Copaifera. { Copaivic acid. 



19 



290 ON VOLATILE OR ESSENTIAL OILS, RESINS, ETC. 



III. Gum Resins. 

Ammoniacum, U. S. Concrete ( 22 per cent. gum. ") ,. . . , . 

„ r,' . -i-o„ t. • > Stimulant, expectorant, 

juice of Dorema, A. (. i2 per cent, resin. J ' ^ 



•> (4.6 per cent, essential oil. J 

Galbanum, O Sp. gr 1.212. J ™* P£ c »*; *£ 1 Stimulant anti- 

From an unknown plant. } ^M ^ ^ ^^ ^ J spasmodic. 

Sagapenum. From an uncertain j jg JJ ^ g 1 ^ | Stimulant like 

P lanL 1 3.73 per cent, volatile oil. J 

Gambogia, U. S. From an un- I on » v * • 

certatn tree. 1 80 P . er cent 6 amb °g ic acid - C 6o F 35° 12 - ( ? ) So1 - m 



iissr:- 



T3 per cent, volatile oil 
fl9- 

■j 80 

Scammonium, U. S. Concrete ),, cn . ^ ,, 

. n '- » i o > 5 to 80 per cent, resin. Cathartic 

juice of Convolvulus, S. / ^ 

Olibanum. Frankincense. From | -,, *__ ___ J ." §„_.. 

an unknown plant. 

Myrrha, K ft Sp. gr. 1.81. J JJ* ■>» "*■ £-;. MSM > 1 ■—-«* 



ether. 



56 per cent, resin. j- For fumigation. 

8 per cent, volatile oil. 



(40.81 
44.76 
2.18 



From Balsamodendron, M. 1 ";" P er cent / "^(Neutral.) , d ^ - - 

( 2.18 per cent, volatile oil. J ° 

IV. Balsams. 

f Benzoic acid, average 15 per cent. 

Benzoiuum, U.S. Sp.gr. 1.063 j a. Resin, C 70 H 42 O M , soluble in ether, not in KO,C0 2 . 

From Styrax Benzoin. j b. Resin, C 30 H 20 O 5 , soluble in KO,C0 2 , not in ether. 

(c. Resin, C 4D H^0 9 , soluble in alcohol, not in ether. 

Cinnamic acid, 6.'J4 per cent. '"»«.. , .. 

1 Stimulating ex- 



Balsamum Peruvian™, cr A f g^amic acid, 6.94 per eent. | 

Sp. gr. 1.14 to 1.16. %\ 0T «">""»»>* 69 per cent. I 

(23.1 per cent, resin, C 40 II 28 O 6 . J 

{ Resin, 88 per cent. ^ 

Cinnamic acid, 12 per cent, j- 
Volatile oil, 0.2 per cent. J 



Do. 



Styrax, U. S. Concrete juice f ? t enzoi . c acid ,\. 

ie a -«„:_„i- J < Styracine. Cinnameine. (?) V Do. 

( 2 resins. J 



of S. officinale. 



V. Other Articles of Materia Medica containing Resins or Resinoid 
Active Principles. 

Calamus, U. S. ; rhizome of Acorus C. Minute quantity of essential oil, and 2.3 per 

cent, of soft resin. 
Cimicifuga, U. S. ; root of C. racemosa. See p. 168. 
Colocynthis, U. 8. ; fruit of Citrullus C. Colocynthin. 
Extractum cannabis, U. S. ; extract Indian hemp. Cannabin. 
Guaiaci lignum, U. S. ; wood of G. officinale. 26 per cent, resin, ext, &c. 
Helleborus, U. S.; root of helleborus niger. Helleborin. Soft, acrid resin. 
Jalapa, U. S. ; root of Ipomcea J. 7.8 per cent, jalapin ; C 42 H, 5 O 20 . See p. 163. 
Mezereum, U. S. ; bark of Daphne M., and Daphne gnidium. Acrid resin. 
Podophyllum, U. S.; root of P. peltatum. See Podophyllin, p. 163. 
Pyrethrum, U. S. ; root of Anacyclus P. Pyrethrin; acrid resin. 
Zingiberis, U. S. ; rhizoma of Z. officinale. Small quantity of essential oil. See p. 284. 
Also, drugs, generally, which contain essential oils. 



ARTICLES OF MATERIA MEDICA CONTAINING RESINS. 291 

Of the resins proper, mastich, copal, and sandarac are used almost 
exclusively in varnishes ; elemi enters into some stimulating ex- 
ternal applications ; amber is used exclusively for the products of 
its distillation ; Burgundy pitch and the so-called hemlock gum 
(pix Canadensis) are applied in the form of plasters for their stimu- 
lating and counter-irritant effects. Guaiacum, which was formerly 
classed with the gum-resins, is adapted to the treatment of rheu- 
matic complaints, for which it is much used. 

Of the oleo-resins three are turpentines. White or common tur- 
pentine (terebinthina) yields the valuable oil which has such exten- 
sive use in the arts and in medicine, and resin, a scarcely less use- 
ful product, which in turn, by distillation, yields several empyreu- 
matic oils employed in the arts. Balsam of fir, T. Canadensis, and 
Yenice turpentine, T. veneta, are chiefly used in the arts, the latter 
being a useful ingredient in sealing-wax ; it is much sophisticated. 
Copaiva is highly esteemed for its stimulating effect upon the mu- 
cous surfaces, particularly those of the urinary organs. 

The gum resins and balsams are distinguished from each other by 
the latter containing benzoic or cinnamic acid. 

Ammoniac, assafoetida, and the balsams are much used as stimu- 
lating expectorants. Assafoetida, galbanum, and sagapenum are 
most esteemed for antispasmodic effects both internally and ex- 
ternally applied ; the latter is rarely met with in this country. 
Olibanum is almost exclusively used for fumigation. Gamboge 
and scammony are powerful drastic cathartics, the latter being 
almost always largely adulterated. 

Myrrh is peculiarly fitted for weak and relaxed conditions of the 
system connected with diseases of the lungs and uterus. It is 
much combined with salts of iron, as in Griffith's myrrh mixture 
elsewhere introduced. 

Of the .balsams, benzoin is solid, hard, and brittle; that of Peru, 
called also myroxylon, is fluid ; Tolu is intermediate, being a very 
soft and readily fusible solid ; while storax is met with both in the 
liquid and a very impure solid granular form. 

The group of drugs containing resinous active principles com- 
prises a considerable variety. Calamus, mezereon, and pellitory, 
with some of the essential oil group, are powerful local stimulants. 
Colocynth, jalap, podophyllum, and hellebore, are cathartics, the 
latter possessing emmenagogue properties. Cimicifuga is a sedative 
tonic in diseased conditions of the nervous system. Extract of 
cannabis is exhilarant. Ginger is a carminative greatly esteemed. 
See the chapters on Tinctures, Extracts, and Fluid Extracts. 



292 ON NEUTKAL ORGANIC PRINCIPLES, ETC. 



CHAPTER VII. 

OX NEUTRAL ORGANIC PRINCIPLES MOSTLY PECULIAR TO A 
LIMITED NUMBER OF PLANTS, AND POSSESSED OF MEDICINAL 
PROPERTIES. 

Formerly, the virtues of a great many medical plants were 
attributed to extractive matter, though this, as obtained from various 
sources and by different analytical processes, was known to vary 
somewhat in physical and in chemical properties. 

Eecently, many of these plants have been found to possess cer- 
tain well-defined proximate principles, sometimes crystalline and 
sometimes amorphous, to which appropriate names have been given. 
If alkaline, these names terminate in ia; if neutral or subacid, in in 
or ine\ and, with a view to accuracy, this distinction should be in- 
variably retained. 

The chemical properties of many of the uncrystallizable princi- 
ples have not been sufficiently investigated to admit of their being 
classified, except by the rather inaccurate designation of extractive. 
Some of them probably contain crystalline principles, which have 
as yet escaped observation ; others are perhaps the result of the 
oxidation or alteration in some way, by the processes employed, of 
the peculiar and obscure principle really at the base of the active 
properties of the drug. 

Extractive, then, as at present recognized, is a product of the 
evaporation of the infusions or tinctures of plants after the separa- 
tion of their known and indifferent principles. 

The neutral crystalline principles are conveniently considered 
under the same head, and will be separately presented with refer- 
ence to their leading characteristics. Some so designated, though 
not distinctly crystalline, are pulverulent and white, or of a dis- 
tinctive color. 

Neutral crystalline principles are in some instances active, and 
in others appear to possess little power of affecting the system. 
Some of them contain nitrogen, while others consist of merely car- 
bon, hydrogen, and oxygen. To the former class several of the most 
active belong, and the possession of nitrogen was formerly con- 
sidered an indication of the power of affecting the nervous system, 
though digitalin, the most powerful, is not nitrogenized. These 
principles occasionally unite with acids, forming crystalline com- 
pounds, which are, however, acid in their properties ; others com- 
bine with alkalies, forming crystallizable salts. They are generally 
precipitated by tannic acid, and many of them by subacetate of lead. 



ON NEUTRAL ORGANIC PRINCIPLES, ETC. 293 

The modes of obtaining the neutral principles are various, and 
sometimes very complex. The solubility and the chemical pecu- 
liarities of each, when known, indicate the process to be pursued in 
extracting it. Eecently, the use of animal charcoal has been found 
to facilitate their extraction from the solutions containing them. 

M. Labourdais, a European chemist, has, within a few years, exa- 
mined many of these principles and published processes for their 
extraction, in all of which he avails himself of the absorbent power 
of charcoal, which is greatly increased by its purification. (See 
Carbo-animalis.) The two following recipes are inserted as exam- 
ples of his modes of preparation, which are certainly more simple 
than those previously published. 

Digitalin. — Precipitate by the acetate of lead an aqueous solu- 
tion of alcoholic extract of digitalis, filter and agitate the liquid, 
with purified animal charcoal. Let it rest; pour off gently and 
wash the charcoaled deposit, charged with all the bitter principle, 
in distilled water. Dry it in a stove, and treat it afterwards with 
boiling alcohol. This alcohol, evaporated in a water bath, gives a 
liquid which precipitates, on cooling, the digitalin in a pulverulent 
form. This can be purified and obtained in crystals by a new 
alcoholic treatment. 

Ilicin. — Make a decoction of holly-leaves ; boil with washed 
animal charcoal ; agitate it constantly ; take it off the fire ; let it 
rest ; pour off gently ; treat the dry charcoal with boiling alcohol ; 
filter ; evaporate by the stove. The dry and bitter material obtained 
is ilicine. 

Similar modes of preparation may be applied to the isolation of 
the alkaloids. 

It will not be expected that a subject so purely scientific, and 
having so little direct practical application to the wants of the 
physician, should claim an extended notice in a work like the pre- 
sent. The appropriation of a chapter to it here results from the' 
effort to generalize, as far as possible, the leading facts in the 
chemical history of plants, and thus to hold out to the student a 
study which underlies the whole science of pharmacy. 

There is no known scientific mode of classifying these organic 
principles, and the tables which follow lay no claim to such classifi- 
cation. They are, moreover, liable to the objection of presenting 
to view some results which require further confirmation, while, 
from the conflicting character of many of the published analyses, it 
has been impossible to glean the truth sufficiently to embody it in 
the compact form selected. It is believed, notwithstanding, that 
the more important general facts in regard to the neutral peculiar 
principles are displayed in these tables. 



294 on neutral organic principles, etc. 

Syllabus of Neutral Organic Peculiar Principles, with the 
Drugs which yield them. 

1st Group. — Extractive Hatters, soluble in Water. 

Aurantiin. Bitter extractive of cortex aurantii and limonis, U. S. Associated with 

volatile oil. 
Bitter extractive of anthemis, U. S. Associated Avith volatile oil. 
" " canella, U. S. Associated with volatile oil. 

" " chimaphila, U. S. Associated with tannic acid. 

" " coptis, U. S. Unassociated with volatile oil or tannic acid. 

" " cornus Florida, U. S. Associated with tannic acid. 

" " eupatorium, U. S. Associated with tannin, &c. 

" " gentiana, U. S. Containing unimportant crystalline pi'inciples. 

" " marrubium, U. S. Associated with volatile oil. 

" serpentaria, U. S. Associated with volatile oil. 

and acrid extractive of scilla, U.S. Said to contain two distinct principles. 

„ xl L . . f senn . a ' U- S ; tt *\ Probably not the active principle as here- 

Cathartin.m^ cassia Manlandica, U.S. J tufor c obtained. 

( rhamui baccas. J 

Ergotin, extractive of ergota, U. S. Associated with fixed oil, &c. See p. 161. 
Extractive of juglans, U. S. Cathartic principle little understood. 
Ilicin, in ilex (the holly). Used as a substitute for quinia. 

2d Group. — Neutral Crystalline Principles, with their Composition, 
Sources, etc. 

Absinthin, C 16 H 10 O 4 , from absinthium, JJ. S. Bitter principle precipitated by 2Pb Ae. 
Aloin, C 34 H lg 14 HO, from aloe, JJ S. The active principle very soluble in hot water 

and alcohol. Yields by oxidation crysamic acid. 
Amygdalin, C^H^NO^, from amygdala amara, U. S. Forms hydrocyanic acid with 

emulsin. 

f Asparagus officinalis. 1 Represented in some 

Asparagin, 2HO, C.H 8 \ 2 0. from I AlthreiB radix. U. S. wo , * S a r C0 ™; 

,,'. . ° ' , ' 8 » 2 5 j i pouna of malic acid 

Althein, " " " Glycyrrhiza, U.S. I i -i i 

J J < and amide, mala- 



Svmiihytum officinale, U.S. , 
•> l J J mide, NH 2 MaO a 

Apocynin (?), from apocynura cannabinum, U. S. Emetic and cathartic. 

Asclepione, C 40 II 31 < ) 6 , from asclepias syriaca, U. S. Soluble in ether ; narcotic. 

Caffein, C, 6 H, i) N 4 4 , from caffea arabica. CoflFee. Isomeric with thein. 

Cantharidin, C I0 H 6 O 4 , from cantharis and C vittata, U. S. Soluble in alcohol and 
water as naturally combined, and very freely in oil of turpentine, fixed oils, ether 
and chloroform. 

Cascarilliu, C II ('.'), from cascarilla, U. S. Bitter principle soluble in alcohol; pre- 
cipitated by subacetate of lead from solution. 

Cetrarin, C 34 H 16 15 , from cetraria, U. S. Bitter principle. 

Columbin, t' 12 II,,o I4 , from columba, U. S. Associated with alkaloid berberine. 

Cubebin, C 34 H 34 O 10 , from cubeba, U. S. Soluble iu ether, volatile oils, and hot alcohol. 

Cusparin (?), from angustura, U. S. Soluble in water, especially hot; precip. by T. 

Daphnin I'.), from mezereum, U.S. Bitter principle analogous to asparagin, asso- 
ciated with acrid resin. 

Digitaliu, C H (?), from digitalis, U. S. Soluble in water in its natural combination ; 
a violent poison — dose l-80th grain. 

Elaterin, C^H^Og (?), from elaterium, U. S. Very powerful cathartic; dose 1-1 Oth gr. 

Escnlin, C 16 H 9 O )0 , from resculus hippocastanum. Horscchestnut. Antiperiodic. (?) 

Helleborin ('?), from helleborus, U. S. Associated with acrid resin and oil. 

Hesperidin (?), from cortex limonis, &c, U. S. Inert ; associated with bitter extractive. 

Hydrastin ('?), from hydrastis Canadensis. See p. 163 and 297. 

Limonin, C 42 H 25 13 , from seeds of lemon and orange. 

Liriodendriu ('.'). from liriodendron, U.S., and magnolia, U. S. Soluble in ether and 
alcohol ; bitter and pungent. 



NEUTRAL ORGANIC PRINCIPLES. 295 

Maticin (?), from matico, U. S. Bitter principle, associated with an active essential oil. 

i ec run, w 5 4 , I f r0 m opium, Z7. & Narcotin, tonic and antiperiodic.(?) The- 

Narcotfn H NO f ra P eutics little understood. (See Alkaloids.) 

Phloridzin, C 24 H ]6 14 , from apple, cherry, and plum trees. Bitter and astringent. 

Picrotoxin, C 10 H 6 O 4 (?), from cocculus indicus. Poisonous. 

Piperin, C 70 H 37 N 2 O 10 , from piper nigrum and longum, IT. S. Soluble in ether, volatile 
oils, &c. (See Extractum Piperis Fluidum.) 

Quassin, C 20 H ]2 O 6 , from quassia, U. S., and simaruba, U. S. Said to be = Esculin. 

Salicin, C 42 tf 29 22 , from salix, U. S., and other bitter willow and poplar barks. Solu- 
ble in water. 

Santonin, C 30 H lg O 6 , from semen santonica. Acid and bitter; soluble in alcohol and 
ether; anthelmintic; dose 1 to 4 grains. 

Saponin, C 26 H 24 16 (?), from saponaria officinalis, U. S. Frothing in solution. 

Sarsaparillin, C 4 H 8 3 (?), from sarsaparilla, V. S. Soluble in hot water and volatile 
oils. (?) 

Scillitin (?), from scilla, U. S. Requires further examination. 

Scoparin, C 21 H U 0, , from scoparius, U. S., said to be associated with a liquid alkaloid, 
Spartein, C 15 H ]3 N. 

Senegin or polygalic acid, C 22 H 18 H , from Senega, U. S. Very acrid; soluble in 
water; resembling saponin. 

Taraxacin (?), from taraxacum, U.S. Bitter, acrid; soluble in hot water. 

Thein, C 16 H ]CI N 4 4 , from the different varieties of thea (tea). Identical with caffein. 

Theobromin, C I4 H s N 4 4 , from theobroma cacao. Contains C 2 H 2 less than thein. 

Xanthoxylin (?), from xanthoxylum, U. S. Properties not investigated. 

Of the drugs enumerated in this syllabus, several are distin- 
guished by containing the extractive principle named : — 

Catliartin. — This is a yellow uncrystallizable substance, with a 
bitter, nauseous taste, very soluble both in water and alcohol. It 
attracts moisture from the air, and is precipitated by infusion of 
galls and subacetate of lead. It contains no nitrogen. Cathartin, 
in an impure form, is occasionally prescribed in small doses, 
although it is by some said not to possess the active properties of 
the plant. The cathartic princip]e of juglans (white walnut bark) 
has not been sufficiently studied to allot it a place in any classi- 
fication. 

Under the name of ergotin, a preparation, which has been men- 
tioned among the pseudo extracts, is sold in the shops. It is not 
entitled to rank among pure active principles ; but, in the latitude 
given to the construction of these tables, it is perhaps not inappro- 
priately introduced among the extractive matters. 

Saponin is the name given to a pulverulent principle present in 
the saponaria officinalis. The active principle of senega, which 
has been called senegin, or polygalic acid, resembles saponin in some 
of its properties. It has been obtained as a white powder, soluble 
in water and alcohol, insoluble in ether, and precipitated by sub- 
acetate of lead. It forms no crystallizable salts. It does not con- 
tain nitrogen. Sarsaparilla yields a crystalline principle called 
smilacin, or sarsaparillin, which resembles senegin and saponin. It 
is only slightly soluble in cold water, and distinguished by the frothy 
character it gives to its solution on agitation. Monesia bark and the 
imported extract of that name are believed to contain saponin. 

Angustura bark yields, on the spontaneous evaporation of its 



296 OX NEUTRAL QRGANIC PRINCIPLES ETC. 

tincture, a crystalline principle slightly soluble in water, more so 
in alcohol, to which the name cusparin has been applied. 

Gentian contains a crystallizable principle named genticin, but the 
most prominent character of the root, that of intense bitterness, 
seems to remain after the separation of this principle, and from 
this extractive mass no other principle has been isolated ; so that 
we may regard its activity as belonging to bitter extractive. 

Aloin. — The recent discoyery by T. and H. Smith, of Edinburgh, 
of a neutral crystalline principle existing in aloes, has excited much 
interest, and their experiments have been repeated by several with- 
out success. They obtained it from an aqueous solution, though in 
sulphur-yellow crystals, which were sparingly soluble, though very 
readily dissolved by alkali. Aloin is thrown down by subacetate 
of lead as an intensely yellow precipitate. 

Among the most interesting of the nitrogenized neutral princi- 
ples are ihein and cqffein, which have the composition C 16 H, N 4 O 4 , 
and theobromin C 14 H s N 4 4 . These possess similar properties, both 
chemically and therapeutically, and are remarkable for the very 
large proportion of nitrogen they contain. The almost universal 
employment as beverages of infusions of tea, coffee, or chocolate, 
which contain one or other of these principles, taken in connec- 
tion with their composition, has given rise to important theoretical 
views concerning their utility, which will be found fully developed 
in Liebig's Animal Chemistry. 

Asparagin, or altkein, C 8 H 3 ISr 2 O s -f 2HO, is another highly nitro- 
genized neutral crystalline principle, which exists in asparagus, 
liquorice, and althea roots. It seems destitute of any striking 
therapeutical effects, although like the powerful alkaloids in con- 
taining nitrogen. 

Amygdalin, C 40 II 2 _NO 2 ,, is a remarkable crystalline principle, 
reacting in the presence of water, with emulsin, a sort of vegetable 
albumen, to develop the powerfully odorous volatile oil, called oil 
of bitter almonds, and hydrocyanic acid. These principles are much 
used in Europe for the artificial preparation of bitter almond water. 

In piperin, C 70 H 37 N 2 O 10 , and cubcbin, C 34 H 34 O 10 , we have an illustra- 
tion of two crystalline products which resemble each other in pro- 
perties, though differing in regard to a most important peculiarity 
— the presence of nitrogen. They neither of them play an im- 
portant part in the activity of the medicines containing them. 
The former is recently stated to be a compound of an alkaloid, 
picolin, C 12 H 7 N. 

In di gitalin, which is destitute of nitrogen, we have the most 
potent of vegetable poisons, powerfully affecting the nervous sys- 
tem in doses of one-thirtieth grain. 

In elaterin, we have a rare instance of an organic crystalline 
principle, possessed of powerfully acrid cathartic qualities. 

Salicin and phloridzin are crystalline principles occasionally met 
with in commerce, but they are rarely prescribed. Salicin has 



COLORING MATTERS. 297 

been used as an adulteration of sulphate of quinia, from which it 
is conveniently distinguished by its property of turning red on the 
application of sulphuric acid. 

Hydrastin, which was at first considered an alkaloid, is now 
stated to be a neutral principle. It is believed to be nitrogenized. 
Edward S. Wayne, of Cincinnati, Ohio, informs me that he is in 
the habit of extracting large quantities of it to meet an extensive 
demand in the West. Its brilliant yellow color adapts it to use as 
a pigment, besides its reputed utility as a medicine. 

Santonin possesses more practical interest than most of its class, 
from its extensive use in medicine as a vermifuge. It is extracted 
from the European wormseed, and is an article of commerce not 
only in Europe, where it has been used for some years, but in this 
country, where its value is just beginning to be appreciated by 
practitioners. It is in colorless crystals, with little taste, owing to 
their insolubility, though leaving a slight sense of acrimony in the 
mouth ; its solution is bitter. It is soluble in ether and alcohol, and 
but slightly in water. Though without acid or alkaline action on 
test paper, it combines with alkalies, forming soluble compounds. 
It is best given in powder, diluted with sugar, and is recommended 
by the absence of an unpleasant taste. The dose is from one to 
four grains twice a day. 

It is one of the numerous principles which have been tried, with 
occasional success, as a substitute for quinia in intermittents. For 
mode of extraction, see Am. Journ. Pharm., vol. xv. p. 278. 



Coloring Matters. 

To the class of neutral crystalline principles belong several im- 
portant coloring matters. 

Indigotin, C 16 H 5 lSr0 2 , is the coloring principle of indigo. It is in- 
soluble in water ; but, by the action of deoxidizing agents, is con- 
verted into white indigo, which contains one more atom of hydrogen ; 
this is soluble in water, and, by exposure to the air, becomes con- 
verted again into indigotin. By treating indigo with very strong 
sulphuric acid, a compound is formed called sulph.-indylic acid 
C 16 H 5 N0 2 +2S0 3 . This is used as a test for chlorine, which de- 
prives it of color. 

Litmus. — The article which comes . in small cakes, made up of a 
granular powder, known in commerce as litmus, is a factitious sub- 
stance, prepared chiefly in Holland from certain lichens, species of 
Eocella, which contain a peculiar acid — lecanoric acid. The mass is 
made by macerating the lichen for some time in a solution of lime 
and potash, which gives a red-colored liquid containing a peculiar 
crystallizable compound called orcine. This infusion is mixed with 
urine, which, after a species of fermentation, in which ammonia is 
evolved, brings out the peculiar blue, coloring principle named 



298 ON VEGETABLE ACIDS. 

orcinc. The solution is now made into a mass with earthy im- 
purities, and dried into its characteristic form. 

The use of this peculiar substance is familiar to all chemical 
students. By treating it with successive portions of hot water, an 
infusion is procured which, by evaporation and painting upon un- 
sized paper, constitutes test paper ; reddened by a weak acid, it 
serves as a test for alkalies which restore the blue color, while 
acids redden the blue litmus immediately. 

Chlorophylle (leaf green), C 1S H 9 N0 8 , exists in grasses and the 
leaves of trees, from which it may be obtained by treating a strong 
alcohol and ether extract with hydrochloric acid ; precipitating the 
chlorophylle from this with water, and drying, we have it as a dark 
green powder. Leaves contain only a very small quantity of this 
principle, which, however, possesses powerful coloring properties. 

Additional Coloring Substances. 

Carthamus, U. S. Flowers of C. Tinctoria. C u H 8 7 , Red. C 24 H, 3 15 , Yellow. 
Coccus, U.S. Coccus cacti, the insect. Carmine, C, S H U <) I6 . Sea. 
Crocus, U. S. Stigmas crocus sativa. Polycroite. Yellow. 
Curcuma, U.S. Khizoma, C. Longa. Curcumin. Yellow ; brown with alkali. 
Haematoxylon, U S. Wood, II. Campechianum. Hsematin, C )0 II I7 o |V 
Quercus tinctoria, U. S. The bark (quercitron). Quercitrin, HO, C, 6 II 8 9 . Yellow. 
Santalum, U.S. Wood of pterocarpus, S. Santalin, HO, C 30 H lg O 9 . Resinous. 
Rubia tinctoria, U.S. Root. Rubian, alizarin, C 20 H ti O 6 ; purpurin, C lg H 6 6 . 
Anchusa, U. S. Root of A. Tinctoria. Anchusin, CjjHggOg. Red. Green, C 31 IT 22 4 . 
Rheum, U. S. Root of It. Palmatum. Rhabarbaric acid. Yellow ; red with alkali. 
Sanguinaria, U. S. Root of S. Canadensis. Sanguinarina. Red, with acids. 
Hydrastis. Root of H. Canadensis. Hydrastin. Yellow. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

OX VEGETABLE ACIDS. 



"Vegetable acids are distinguished as a class by characteristic 
properties. They combine with inorganic or organic alkalies, some 
of them in several different proportions, according to the number 
of equivalents of water combined with them. Thus, citric is 
a tribasic acid, containing three equivalents of water ; tartaric 
bibasic, containing only two ; and benzoic only one, monobasic. 
These acids are found in nature both free and combined with organic 
bases. Some are very commonly diffused throughout the vegeta- 
ble kingdom, as tannic ; others exist exclusively in one family of 
plants, as meconic acid in the papaveracese. Some, although exist- 
ing naturally, are capable of artificial production from other organic 
material, as oxalic and valerianic. This whole class, like that of 
organic alkalies, have a much closer relation to inorganic princi- 



VEGETABLE ACIDS. 299 

pies than the neutral crystalline and uncrystallizable principles 
before spoken of. They all contain oxygen, and, with the excep- 
tion of hydrocyanic, which is most conveniently classed with them, 
are destitute of nitrogen in their composition. The vegetable acids 
are capable of numerous changes during the vegetative process of 
the plant, and, in some cases, of conversion into each other, as in 
the ripening of fruits tannic is converted into malic, and both of 
these into sugar. 

In their relations to food and medicine, some of this class are 
exceedingly important. The agreeable acids of the lemon and 
orange, the grape, the apple, and similar fruits, are refrigerants in 
the highest degree useful, and even indispensable to man. The 
astringent acids distributed widely in nature, and much associated 
with bitter principles in plants, are scarcely less important in the 
functions they subserve in the general processes of digestion, and 
especially in enfeebled conditions of the organs. 

Table of the Pkincipal Vegetable Acids, their Sources, 
Composition, &c. 

1st Group. — Important and ividely diffused {Fruit) Acids. 

Citric, 3 HO, C 12 H 6 O n . In lemons, currants, gooseberries, tomatoes, &c. 
Tartaric, 2H0, C 8 H 4 O 10 . In grapes. Obtained from -wine deposits. 
Malic, 2H0, C g H 4 3 . In apples, &c. Not found in commerce. 
Acetic, HO, C 4 H 3 3 . Occasionally in plants. Product of fermentation, &e. 
Oxalic, HO, C 2 H 2 5 . Rhubarb plant, sorrel, &c. Artificially produced. 
Pectic, HO, C i2 H 17 O n . Various vegetable juices. Not found in commerce. 

2d Group. — Astringent and Allied Acids. 

Tannic, 8H0, C IS H 5 9 .' Most powerful, precipitating gelatin, freely soluble. 

Gallic, 2 HO, C 7 H 3 3 . Does not precip. gelatin. Sparingly soluble in cold water. 

Ellagic, 2HO, C 7 H 3 6 5 . Very insoluble. 

Catechu tannic, 3HO, C 1S H 5 5 . (?) In kino, catechu, &c. Milder than tannic. 

Cincho-tannic, 2H0, C 14 H 6 7 . In cinchona barks. " 

Cephsslic, C ]4 H 8 6 . In ipecacuanha. Allied to the foregoing. 

3d Group. — Having Relation to Essential Oils, 

Benzoic, HO, C 14 H 5 3 . By oxidation of oil of bitter almonds. 

Cinnamic, HO, C ]8 H 7 3 . In balsams, old oil of cinnamon, &c. 

Valerianic, HO, C 10 H 9 O 3 . Generated in valerian spontaneously. Produced artifi- 
cially from fusel oil. 

Hydrocyanic, HC 2 N. Generated in bitter almond water, spontaneously. Produced 
artificially from animal matters. 

4dh Group. — Combined with Alkaloids in Plants. 

Meconic, C l4 H 4 I4 . With morphia, &c, in opium and the poppy. 

Kinic, C ]4 H 12 ]2 . With quinia, &c, in cinchonas. 

Aconitic, HO, C 4 H0 3 . With aconitia, &c, in aconite ; also by heating citric. 

Strychnic or igasuric. With strychnia and brucia, in nux vomica, &c. 

Veratric, HO, C 18 H 9 O r With veratria, in cevadilla seed, &c. 

Calumbic, C 42 H 21 14 . With bebeerina, in columbo-root. 

Cevadic. With colchicia, in colchicum-root and seed. 

Coccalinic. With menispermina, in cocculus indicus. 

1 The old formula. According to Mulder, it is isomeric with gallic acid and = 
H0,C 28 H 9 17 . 



300 on vegetable acids. 

First Group. — Fruit Acids. 

Acidum Citricum, IT. S. 

This is procured from lime or lemon-juice by neutralizing the 
acid with chalk, and from the citrate of lime thus formed liberating 
the citric acid by means of sulphuric acid. 

It is in large transparent crystals without color, with a strong, 
but agreeable acid taste, decomposed by heat, very soluble in 
water and in weak alcohol, deliquescing in moist weather. Specific 
gravity 1.6. As usually obtained in crystals, it consists of one 
equivalent of the tribasic acid -f one (sometimes two) equivalent of 
water of crystallization. It is not sold in the form of powder. I 
have never met with an adulterated article. According to the 
U. S. Pharmacopoeia, 100 grains of crystallized citric acid will satu- 
rate 150 grains of bicarb-potassa, which is on the supposition of one 
equivalent of water of crystallization being present. Its principal 
consumption is in the preparation of so-called lemon syrup and 
solution of citrate of magnesia. This latter preparation has in- 
creased the quantity of the acid used immensely, so that the price 
has, within two years, advanced to more than double its former 
average. The recent reduction to near its former rate has probably 
arisen from an increased supply. To make artificial lemon-juice, 
add citric acid 3ixss to water Oj ; fresh oil of lemon n\,j ; and sugar 
3j. This solution is much employed in making effervescing 
draughts. (See Potassae Citras.) A good lemonade may be made 
by either of the following processes : — 

1st. Infuse two lemons, sliced, in a pint or a pint and a half of 
boiling water; when cool, strain and sweeten to taste. 

2(7. Dissolve twenty grains of citric acid in a pint of water, and 
sweeten with sugar to which has been added a drop of fresh oil of 
lemon. 

Sd. From syrup of citric acid, by recipe given under the head of 
Fruit Syrups. 

Fresh lemon-peel is always to be preferred to the oil of the shops. 

Acidum Tartaricum, II. S. 

This valuable acid is prepared from bitartrate of potassa or 
cream of tartar, by the addition of carbonate of lime, whereby 
insoluble tartrate of lime is formed with the excess of acid of the 
bitartrate and neutral tartrate of potassa left in solution. This is 
decomposed with chloride of calcium, which forms an additional 
quantity of tartrate of lime. Lastly, the insoluble tartrate of lime 
is purified by washing, and decomposed by sulphuric acid, which 
liberates the tartaric acid. This, on evaporation, crystallizes in 
colorless crystals, with a tendency to the form of oblique rhombic 
prisms (citric acid is more in right rhombic prisms). It has a sour 
taste, resembling, though not identical with, that of citric acid. It 



ASTRINGENT ACIDS. 301 

is freely soluble in water, entirely decomposed by heat. Tartaric 
acid may be recognized by the copious white crystalline precipitate 
it furnishes on adding to it an excess of any neutral salt of potash. 
The precipitate formed by both this and citric acid with acetate of 
lead should be soluble in nitric acid. This is rather a stronger acid 
than citric, 100 grains saturating 133.5 grains of bicarbonate of 
potassa. It is most usually sold in powder. Its principal use is in 
preparing effervescing and refrigerant drinks, and as a substitute for 
citric acid. Its salts will be treated under their appropriate heads. 

Oxalic acid is an instance of an important vegetable acid existing 
ready formed in plants, and also capable of artificial production. 
All the oxalic acid of commerce is obtained by the action of nitric 
acid on sugar or starch, the organic principle being oxidized at the 
expense of the acid. Nitrous fumes and carbonic acid gas are 
evolved, and oxalic and saccharic acids are formed; the latter, 
which is the principal product, is collected and crystallized, and 
most extensively used as a bleaching agent. It is not officinal. 

Acetic acid has been already referred to as produced in the de- 
structive distillation of wood, and also as a product of the sponta- 
neous change which takes place in articles of the saccharine and 
amylaceous group by the catalytic action of ferments. (See p. 244.) 

Medic and pectic acids are of little pharmaceutic importance, though 
of interest as constituents of some of the most useful vegetable pro- 
ductions. 

Second Group. — Astringent Acids. 

The mode of extracting or preparing tannic and gallic acids being 
very simple and practicable, may next claim attention. 

Acidura tannicum, U. S., is conveniently prepared by treating 
powdered galls in a narrow covered displacer, with hydrated or 
washed ether. The ethereal tincture which passes separates, upon 
standing, into two layers ; the lower one is aqueous, thick, and of a 
light buff or straw color; it contains the tannic acid, which, by the 
action of the small portion of water in the washed ether, has been 
dissolved out from the galls. The upper layer or stratum of liquid 
is limpid and specifically much lighter than the other; it has a 
greenish color, and contains very little dissolved in the ether, but 
a small amount of coloring matter from the galls. To obtain the 
dry product, the light layer is poured off and purified by distilla- 
tion, and combining with water for another operation, while the 
thick heavier layer is evaporated in a capsule by a carefully regu- 
lated heat till dry. If a white and very porous product is desired, 
the capsule should be inverted towards the end of the evaporation, 
so as to expose the thick syrupy liquid to the radiated heat. It is 
swelled up and whitened as the liquid is disengaged. The whole 
of the liquid which comes over may be evaporated without the 
precaution of pouring off the top layer, but the tannin is then apt 



302 



ON VEGETABLE ACIDS. 



to have a greenish tinge. In large manufacturing establishments, 
apparatus is, of course, constructed for saving all the ether for 
future use. Figure 179 represents a suitable apparatus for small 
A is an adapter, such as is used for coupling retorts 
and receivers ; B is a wide-mouth receiving 
bottle ; G is a glass tube passed through 
the cork, and drawn out to a capillary ori- 
fice for the escape of air as the liquid drops 
in. The adapter is designed to be stopped at 
bottom with a cork notched, as shown in Fig. 
E\ and, as the lower orifice would be too 
small to allow a free passage of the liquid if 
the powder were tightly compacted into it, a 
portion of sand, either alone or mixed with 
powdered galls, is filled in to the lower part. 
Fig. F represents the broken beak of a retort 
cut round at its broken end, and adapted to a 
similar use. I have usually employed for this 
purpose, in teaching the student the process on 
a small scale, a Farina Cologne bottle cracked 
off evenly near the bottom, thus forming a 
still better shaped tube for the purpose. To 
prevent undue evaporation of ether, a stout, 
though loosely-fitting cork, maybe introduced 
into the upper end, or it may be covered with 

ra piece of bladder perforated with a few pin- 
| g v : holes. The yield of tannic acid by this pro- 

cess is from 30 to 60 per cent, of the galls 
employed. 

Acidum gallicum, U. S., is made by subject- 
ing a portion of powdered galls to long-con- 
tinued action of air and moisture. This may 
be accomplished in an evaporating capsule 
loosely covered with paper. The powdered 
galls is first made into a paste with water, 
and water repeatedly added to this as it dries, until after the lapse 
of thirty days (U. S.), when the whole of the tannic has passed spon- 
taneously into gallic acid. In extracting this from the moist mass, 
advantage is taken of the known solubility of gallic acid in hot 
water, and its ready precipitation on cooling ; all that is necessary 
is to press out from the pasty mass its water, and, rejecting this, to 
digest the remaining paste in hot water, and filter the solution 
while hot through animal charcoal to decolorize it, and a nearly 
white crystalline powder of gallic acid is obtained. Fig. 180 re- 
presents "the use of the evaporating dish for the hot solution, and 
Fig. 181 the arrangement usually adopted for filtering the solution 
while hot. Care must be taken in these processes not to employ 
vessels of tinned iron, which, by the exposure of a small surface of 
iron, may blacken the whole product. 




Displacers for making 
tannic acid. 



ASTRINGENT ACIDS. 



303 



The composition of tannic and gallic acids, according to Liebig, 
is given in the syllabus of vegetable acids. According to Strecker, 
whose recent researches upon their chemical history have excited 
much attention, tannin has the composition C 54 H 22 34 , and is con- 



180. 



181. 




Evaporating dish and lamp. 




Water-bath funnel. 



verted into gallic acid and grape sugar by sulphuric acid, or by a 
sort of fermentation under the circumstances brought about in the 
process for preparing gallic acid. The following formula will ex- 
plain the reaction according to this view (C 54 H 20 O 32 + 8HO, = 3C H 
H 6 O 10 +C 12 H 10 O 10 ), or one equivalent of tannic acid and eight of 
water are resolved into three equivalents of gallic acid and one of 
grape sugar. 

The rational formula for gallic acid, according to Strecker, is 
3HO, 14 H 3 O 7 , thus making it a tribasic acid. 

Gallic acid is soluble in cold water in about the proportion of 
four grains to the ounce. In common with tannic, it is usually 
given in pill, though used externally in ointment and solution. 

Ellagic acid is the name given to another principle present in 
gall-nuts. It is insoluble in water, alcohol, and ether, and appears 
to be isomeric with gallic acid. 

Both tannic and gallic acids are decomposable by heat into pyro- 
gallic, C 6 H 3 3 , and metagallic, C 6 H 2 2 , acid. The former, on account 
of its great sensitiveness to light, in combination with silver, is 
considerably employed in photographic processes. 

Uses and Varieties. — The relative utility of tannic and gallic acids, 
which are too apt to be confounded by physicians, depends upon 
the fact that the former acts directly upon the mucous membranes 
with which it comes in contact, arresting hemorrhage or other ex- 
cessive discharge by its direct effect on the gelatin frequent in 
them. It is hence a direct and powerful styptic, while gallic acid, 
by entering the circulation, produces an astringent and tonic im- 
pression upon the more remote organs which cannot be directly 
impressed. The dose of tannic acid is from two to ten grains, that 
of gallic acid from five to twenty, several times a day. The former 
is much used in ointment as a substitute for powdered galls, in 



804 ON VEGETABLE ACIDS. 

about one-fourth the quantity, and is also well adapted to astrin- 
gent injections instead of the less soluble vegetable astringents. Its 
action is considered somewhat different (harsher) than that of the 
modified forms of tannic contained in kino, krameria, cinchona, &c. 
There are a variety of modifications of tannin, some of which 
are mentioned under different names in the Syllabus. These are 
distinguished by their behavior with salts of iron, gelatin, &c. The 
list which follows contains the names of different vegetable astrin- 
gents owing their activity wholly or in part to tannic or gallic acid, 
in some of their various modified forms. 

List of Vegetable or Tannic Acid Astringents. 

Catechu, U. S. ; extract of wood of acacia catechu. Gum catechu. 

Ckimaphila, U. S. ; leaves of C. umbellata. Pipsissewa. 

Cinchona, U. S. ; bark of different species cinchona. Peruviau bark. 

Diospyros, U. S. ; unripe fruit of D. Virginiana. Persimmon. 

Galla, U. S. ; morbid excrescence in quercus infectoria. Galls. 

Geranium, U. S. ; rbizoma of G. maculatum. Cranesbill. 

Geum, U. S. ; root of G. rivale. Water avens. 

Granatum fructus cortex, U. S. ; from punica granatum. Pomegrauate. 

" radicis cortex, XT. S. li " 

Hrematoxylon, U. S. ; wood of H. Campechianum. Logwood. 
IU-uchera, U. S. ; root of H. Americana. Alum root. 
Kino, U.S.; inspissated juice of various plants. Kino. 
Krameria, U. S. ; root of K. triandra. Rhatany. 
Quercus alba, U. S. ; tbe bark. White oak bark. 
Quercus tinctoria, U. S. ; the bark. Black oak bark. 
Rosa gallica, U. 8. ; the petals. Red roses. 
Rubus villosus, U. S. ; the root. Blackberry-root. 

" trivialis, U. S. ; " Dewberry-root. 

Spirasa, U. S. ; root of spiraea tomentosa. Hardback. 
Statice, U.S.; the root of S. Caroliniana. Marsh rosemary. 
Tormentilla, U. S. ; the root of potentilla, T. Tormentil. 
Uva ursi, U. S. ; leaves of arctostaphylos, U. U. Bearberry leaves. 



Third or Balsamic Group. 

Acidum Benzoicum, U. S. 

This was formerly stated to be characteristic of the class of medi- 
cines called balsams, although cinnamic acid is more recently asserted 
to be present in balsams of Tolu and Peru to its exclusion. It is 
readily obtained from benzoin by sublimation. For this experi- 
ment, which is an interesting one to the pharmaceutical student, the 
following simple directions are to be observed. Select an iron or 
tinned iron pan or cup — a common pint cup, without a handle, 
will answer — and, having covered the bottom with some powdered 
benzoin mixed with sand, stretch over the top of it a piece of por- 
ous paper, which may be secured at the edge by a string, but pre- 
ferably by glue or some firm paste. Isow fold a tall conical or 
straight-sided cap of the diameter of the pan, and tie it, or cement 
it securely round the upper edge, and set the whole in a sand bath, 



HYDKOCYANIC ACID. 305 

or over a slow and well-regulated source of heat, leaving it for 
several hours. On removing the cap, it will be found to contain 
brilliant white feathery crystals of benzoic acid. The residue in 
the cup, by being again powdered, mixed with sand, and heated, 
will yield another, though a less abundant and less beautiful crop 
of crystals. As thus obtained, benzoic acid has a faint and agree- 
able balsamic odor, with very little taste, being nearly insoluble. 

The process of Scheele consists in boiling the balsam with hy- 
drate of lime, and treating the benzoate of lime thus formed with 
muriatic acid. Thus procured, benzoic acid has but little odor, and 
is ill adapted to the uses to which it is usually applied in medicine 
and pharmacy. An article is now met with in our markets imported 
from Germany, and manufactured from urine ; its odor betrays its 
origin, besides that its appearance is different from the sublimed 
article. 

Valerianic Acid. 

Valerianicis an important medicinal acid developed spontaneously 
by the oxidation of volatile oil of valerian, as benzoic acid is by a 
similar change in the volatile oil of bitter almond. These, together 
with several other organic acids and odorous principles, are capable 
of being manufactured practically on an economical scale by arti- 
ficial means. The substance met with in commerce as fusel oil, 
which is a residuary product of the rectification of alcohol from 
whiskey, has the composition C l0 H 12 O 2 , or may be represented by 
C 10 H u O + HO, that is a hydrate of an oxide of a radical O 10 H n , called 
amyle. Hence, fusel oil is regarded as amylic alcohol ; and as 
acetic acid is formed from common alcohol by adding two equiva- 
lents of oxygen and subtracting two of hydrogen, so valerianic acid 
is formed from amylic alcohol by a similar change of elements. The 
production of other comparatively rare vegetable principles from 
those which are abundant is so greatly to be desired that chemists 
are earnestly directing their attention to this new and promising 
field of discovery. Yalerianic acid, though not itself used in medi- 
cine, enters into several salts used in nervous affections, which are 
introduced in their appropriate places. 

Acidum Hydrocyanicum Dilutum, U. S. 

Hydrocyanic or prussic acid, in its interesting connection with 
amygdalin and emulsin as existing in a certain family of plants, 
has already been referred to, but its mode of preparation and uses 
seem appropriate to this place. 

The processes of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia are two in number : — 

1st. Eor the preparation of a considerable quantity, especially 
with a view to its fixation in the form of cyanuret of silver. 

2d. For its extemporaneous preparation by a ready process, and 
one which shall invariably yield a definite and uniform result. 

1st Process. Take of ferrocyanuret of potassium (yellow prussiate 
20 



806 ON VEGETABLE ACIDS. 

of potash) iij, sulphuric acid liss, distilled water q. s. Mix the 
acid with distilled water f siv, and pour the mixture when cool 
into a glass retort. To this add the ferrocyanuret of potassium 
previously dissolved in distilled water fix. Pour off the distilled 
water fsviij into a cooled receiver; and, having attached this to 
the retort, distil by means of a sand bath, with a moderate heat, 
fsvj. Lastly, add to the product distilled water fsv, or q. s., to 
render the diluted hydrocyanic acid of such strength that 12.7 
grains of nitrate of silver dissolved in distilled water may be 
accurately saturated by 100 grains of the acid, and give 10 grains 
of the cyanuret of silver. 

The difficulties in this process are twofold : 1st. It is difficult to 
conduct the distillation in an ordinary uncovered retort by reason 
of the excessive bumping occasioned by the escape of the acid 
vapor through the mixed liquid and precipitate; and 2d. It is 
exceedingly troublesome to adjust the strength of the distillate to 
the officinal standard. The first of these difficulties may be over- 
come, but the precision necessary to be observed in regard to the 
strength of so powerful a medicine as this, and the impossibility of 
regulating by the proportions employed the amount of the acid 
generated and absorbed by the water in the receiver, make it neces- 
sary to determine its strength by experiment at each operation. 
This may be accomplished by testing, say 100 grains of the acid 
distillate with nitrate of silver before diluting it, carefully washing 
the resulting cyanide of silver, drying and weighing it, then calcu- 
lating the degree of dilution required by the weight of this precipi- 
tate. If of proper strength this would be 10 graius, as above, but 
in this experiment of course a larger yield would be obtained. The 
equation would then be as follows: As the known weight of the 
precipitate from acid of standard strength, is to the weight of cyanide 
obtained from the distillate, so is the quantity of the acid weighed 
to the quantity to be obtained by dilution. Suppose the precipitate 
to have weighed 11.5 grains — then 10 : 11.5 :: 100 : 111.5; or to 
every 100 grains of the distillate 11.5 grains of water must be added 
to make the officinal diluted hydrocyanic acid. 

The plan that I would recommend to the inexperienced is to 
saturate the acid which comes over by the officinal process without 
special reference to the quantity of water in the receiver, with 
nitrate of silver (the nitrate may be introduced into the receiver 
before the distillation commences) ; the result is the formation of 
cyanuret or cyanide of silver in the form of a very permanent 
insoluble powder. This, by washing with water and drying, will 
produce by its decomposition for any given weight, a constant 
quantity of hydrocyanic acid. It is officinal. 

Argenti Cyamtrelum, U. S. 

The PJmrmacopoeia directs for its preparation nitrate of silver and 
ferro-cyanuret of potassium, of each, §ij, sulphuric acid siss, and 
directs the distillation of the hydrocyanic acid produced from the 



HYDROCYANIC ACID. 307 

ferrocyanuret and sulphuric acid directly into a solution of the 
nitrate of silver. Cyanuret or cyanide of silver is a white powder, 
tasteless, without odor, insoluble in cold nitric acid, but decomposed 
by that acid at boiling temperature. It is soluble in ammonia and 
cyanuret of potassium; it consists of 1 eq. of cyanogen 26 + , 1 of 
silver 108 = 184. 

Acidum Hydrocyanicum Dilutum, U. S. (2c? Process.) 

Take of Cyanuret of Silver . . . fifty grains and a half. 
Muriatic Acid .... forty-one grains. 
Distilled Water .... one fluidounce. 

Mix the muriatic acid with the distilled water, add the cyanuret 
of silver, and shake the whole in a well-stoppered vial ; when the 
insoluble matter has subsided, pour off the clear liquid and keep it 
for use. Diluted hydrocyanic acid should be kept in closely-stop- 
pered vials excluded from the light. In preparing this medicine, a 
slight excess of muriatic acid is not objectionable, giving it greater 
stability, and as the commercial acid is nearly always weaker than 
that of the Pharmacopoeia, it should be added as long as any pre- 
cipitate is produced. It is usually put up in f E} ground-stoppered 
vials, the imported kind called Saxony is the best; each vial being 
inclosed in a tin can. The only apparent objection to this process is 
its expensiveness ; this is, however, less than would at first appear. 
The reaction between muriatic acid and the cyanide results in the pro- 
duction of hydrocyanic acid and chloride of silver, thus — AgCy + 
HCl, = H,Cy + AgCl. Now, the chloride of silver is convertible 
into pure metallic silver by the introduction into it while in the 
condition of a moist powder, of a strip of zinc which abstracts the 
chlorine, the chloride of zinc becoming dissolved, and the pure 
silver remaining as a gray colored spongy mass or powder, which, 
on being washed and treated with nitric acid, yields the soluble 
nitrate ready for any further use. 

The country practitioner who wishes to be prepared for every 
emergency in his practice, may with advantage supply himself with 
a suitable f Ij vial, containing 50£ grs. cyanide of silver, to which 
the mixed muriatic acid and water may be added when the occa- 
sion arises. 

The diluted acid prepared as above is a colorless liquid, fre- 
quently having, from the presence of iron, a slight blue tint, of a 
peculiar odor and taste ; it is entirely volatilized by heat. It con- 
tains two per cent, of anhydrous acid (HCy). Its use in medicine 
has been very much avoided by practitioners, on account of the 
violent poisonous character of the anhydrous or concentrated acid ; 
but in the diluted form, in which it is officinal, it is no more dan- 
gerous than many other remedies constantly prescribed, and, not- 
withstanding the alleged variable strength of the commercial article, 
I believe it will be found as nearly uniform as most other pharma- 
ceutical preparations. The books prescribe for use in medicine no 



308 ON VEGETABLE ACIDS. 

acid stronger than that of Scheele, which is about two and a half 
times as strong as the officinal, and may be given in doses of a drop 
or two. The dose of the officinal acid is fllij to ^iv. As a sedative 
and antispasmodic, it is a favorite with some practitioners, who em- 
ploy it simply mixed with mucilage, or with the galenical prepara- 
tions of digitalis, valerian, &c. It should not be prescribed with 
strong alkaline or ferruginous salts. 

Potassii Ferrocyanuretum, IT. S. 

Yelhw prussiate of potash may be, perhaps, appropriately men- 
tioned under this head, being the salt used in the first of the fore- 
going processes. 

This is formed on a large scale by heating to redness in iron pots 
adapted to suitable stirring arrangements, hoofs, horns, and the 
rejected parts of dead animals, with potash and iron ; after long- 
continued heating and stirring these together, they are found to have 
combined into an impure mass in which ferroc}*anide is formed by 
contact with water and crystallized into large yellow crystals, soluble 
in water, and having a sweetish saline taste. They consist of three 
equivalents of cyanuret of potassium, one of cyanuret of iron, and 
three of water, or, if the water be omitted, of ferrocyanogen (FeSCy), 
with two equivalents of potassium. It is not used in medicine, and 
is less poisonous than would be supposed from its chemical com- 
position. One of its most important uses is in the preparation of 
ferrocyanuret of iron or Prussian blue. 

Potassii Cyanureium, IT. S. 

Cyanide of potassium, prepared by fusing the above in contact 
with carbonate of potassa, is in white fused masses (the iron being 
precipitated as sesquioxide), of a powerful caustic taste, and is one 
of the most intense poisons we possess. Its composition is expressed 
by the formula KCy, though it is usually contaminated by carbonate 
and cyanate of potassa. It is given as a substitute for hydrocyanic 
acid, the dose being T5 grain dissolved in alcohol. It is a useful 
chemical agent for removing the stains of nitrate of silver, durable 
ink, and its utility as a solvent for the metallic oxides is well 
known in electro-metallurgy and photography. 

Fourth Group.— Acids naturally combined with Alkaloids. 

To the group of acids mentioned in the syllabus as occurring in 
certain plants combined with alkaloids, it will be unnecessary to 
refer in detail. They may be passed with the remark that meconic 
acid is interesting from its importance in toxicological investi- 
gations. It furnishes a blood-red color with the salts of sesqui- 
oxide of iron, and a green precipitate with a weak solution of 
ammoniated sulphate of copper. These reactions aid in discovering 
the presence of opium in solution. 



ON THE ALKALOIDS. 



CHAPTER IX. 



ON THE ALKALOIDS. 



The vegetable alkalies or alkaloids, like the neutral principles, 
are among the triumphs of the nineteenth century, the announce- 
ment of the first, morphia, by Sertiirner, only dating as far back as 
1817. Since that time a great number of them have been disco- 
vered, and, although but few have as yet been brought within 
reach of the practitioner, they have already made a marked change 
in the pharmacy of the vegetable kingdom. 

The alkaloids are the most powerful class of organic principles, 
displaying their effects especially on the nervous system, which 
they so forcibly impress as to constitute many of them virulent 
poisons ; a few, however, seem nearly destitute of active properties. 
They all contain nitrogen, and, by destructive distillation, or by 
heating with alkali, evolve ammonia ; they evince their alkalinity 
by restoring the color to reddened litmus, and by combining with 
acids to form neutral salts which are crystalline ; they also, like the 
alkalies proper, form double salts with bichloride of platinum. 
Those with which we are best acquainted have an intensely bitter 
taste. 

Most of the alkaloids and neutral crystalline principles are spar- 
ingly soluble in water, but dissolve freely in alcohol, especially with 
heat ; some dissolve in ether, fixed and essential oils, and almost all 
in chloroform, which may hence be used for their extraction. They 
are all precipitated from solution, whether alone or combined as 
salts, by tannic acid, which is hence, when taken immediately, the 
best chemical antidote for them ; they are precipitated by alkali. 

Conia and nicotia are liquid and volatile ; the rest exist either in 
white powders, crystals, or are disposed to amorphous forms, which, 
however, crystallize when combined with acids. 

Unlike the neutral principles, the alkaloids do not exist free in 
plants, but are generally combined with peculiar vegetable acids. 
Certain natural families of plants are distinguished by containing 
the same or similar alkaloids in their several species, while in other 
instances the same plant contains two or more different alkaloids. 
Opium contains five, St. Ignatius bean two, sabadilla and veratrum 
two, while the different species of cinchona are known to contain 
three. 

It is believed that all really poisonous plants contain an alkaloid 
or neutral crystalline principle, except, perhaps, those few acrid 



810 OX THE ALKALOIDS. 

poisons which owe their activity to resinous principles. It is re- 
markable that the development of the active principle is frequently- 
only in one organ of the plant, and only at a certain period of its 
growth. 

There is no convenient and scientific classification of alkaloids, 
and their composition which is known, at least empirically, 
affords no clue to their properties and relations ; indeed, their 
separation from some of the class of peculiar neutral principles, 
though sanctioned by a single well-known chemical distinction, 
seems forced and unnatural when we compare their physical and 
therapeutic properties, and is constantly lost sight of by writers. 

Considering the recent discovery of most of this class, it might 
be expected that a uniform system of nomenclature would obtain 
in regard to them. This, however, is only measurably the case ; 
they are most usually named from the generic title of the plants 
from which first derived, or from some distinguishing property ; 
but by many they are indiscriminately terminated by in or ia. As 
elsewhere stated, this practice is contrary to the rule adopted by 
common consent in this country, appropriating to the neutral prin- 
ciples the former, and to the alkaloids the latter, termination. Even 
the officinal alkaloids are constantly misnamed from a disregard to 
this rule. In converting the foreign names into our own Latinized 
form, some discrepancies arise, as aconitina and aconitia, quinidina 
and quinidia, applied to the same substances. 

The mode of preparation of the alkaloids varies with their habi- 
tudes, and particularly according to their solubility and that of 
their native combinations. When the native salt is soluble, as 
meconate of morphia, and the alkaloid is itself insoluble, there is 
no difficulty in its extraction. The simple addition of a strong 
alkali to the infusion of the vegetable substance neutralizes the 
organic acid with which the alkaloid was associated, and it is thrown 
down in a more or less pure form. It more frequently happens 
that the native alkaloid salt is not so freely soluble in water, and 
then a diluted acid is employed for its extraction ; so that its salt 
with an inorganic acid is obtained, and, this being decomposed by 
an alkali, yields the pure precipitated alkaloid. In a large number 
of cases, however, these simple methods of extraction are quite 
useless, and complex processes are resorted to. Some of these are 
founded upon the alkaloid being separated from its associated prin- 
ciples by subacetate of lead. Some processes direct ether or chlo- 
roform as the solvent, which separates the alkaloids from the other 
proximate principles present, and deposits them upon evaporation. 
The volatile alkaloids are, of course, prepared by appropriate modi- 
fications of the process of distillation. 

The charcoal processes spoken of in the last chapter as applica- 
ble to neutral crystalline principles, are also adapted, by slight 
variations, to the alkaloids. It is not intended to go into detail on 
these processes except in a few cases, as those in use are prepared 
almost exclusively on a large scale by chemical manufacturers. 



ON THE ALKALOIDS. 311 

List of the Principal Medicines known to contain Alkaloids (classified 
botanically), with the Alkaloids and their Composition. 

Rcmunculacese. 
Aconiti folia, U. S. ; leaves of A. Napellus. "1 . ... n TT ATr . 
<< radix, « root of - } Aconitia, C 60 H 47 NO 14 . 

Staphisagria ; seed of Delphinium S. Delpliiaia, C 27 II 19 N0 2 . (?) 

Menisp ermacess. 
Colomba, U. S. ; root of Cocculus palmatus. "I „ , . n „ xrn 
Berberis vulgaris, 1 bark and root. / ^ erDerma > ^42 H is LNU 9- 

Pareira, U. S. ; root of Cissampelos. Cissampelina, C 36 H 21 N0 6 . 
Cocculus indicus ; fruit of Anamirta cocculus. Menispermina, C Ig H ]2 N0 2 . 

Papaveracese. 

f Morphia, C 33 H 20 NOe. 
Papaver, U. S. ; ripe capsules of P. somniferum. J JJarcotina, 46 H 25 NO I4 . 
Opium, « ; concrete juice of unripe « \^L,Wjl^, ?.) 

y Papaverina, C 40 H 2] NO 3 . 
Sanguinaria, U.S.; I'hizoma of S. Canadensis. Sanguinarina, C 37 H 16 lNO g . (?) 

Umbelliferss. 
Conii folia, U. S. ; leaves of Conium maculatum. ~\ 

" semen " seed of " IConia, NC 16 TT,.. 

Cicuta virosa, and maculata, seed. J 

Cmchonacese. 
Cinchona pallida, U.S.;'] fQuinia, CggH^N^. 

" flava, " I barks of different species J Cinchonia, C 3g H 22 N 2 2 . 

" rubra, " j of cinchona. J Quinidia, C s6 H 22 N 2 2 ." 

" (unofficinal) J [ 

Ipecacuanha, U. S. ; root of Cephealis I. Emetia, C 35 lT 23 NO g . 

Oompositese. 
Arnica, U. S. ; flowers of A. montana. Arnicina. (?) 

Lobeliacese. 
Lobelia, U. S. ; herb of L. inflata. Lobelina. (?) 

Loganiacex. 

Nux vomica, U. S. ; seeds of sti-ychnos, N. vom. ") Strychnia, C 42 F 22 N 2 4 . 
Ignatia amara ; the bean " J Brucia, C 46 H 2tj N 2 O g . 

Solanacex. 
Dulcamara, U. S. ; stalks of Solanum D. Solania, C 84 H g8 N0 28 . (?) 
Belladonna, U. S. ; leaves of Atropa B. Atropia, C 34 H 23 N0 6 . 

Stramonii folia, U. S. ; 1 , . -, ■, -1 

,, ,.' , ' leaves, root, and seed of -,-, , . ,-, TT -. rrx 

" radix, " y t. ,' ' . ^Daturia, C„,IL,NO«. 

' „ f Datura stramonium. f > 34 23 6 

" semen, "J ) 

Hyoscyami folia, U.S. ; leaves of H. niger. | ■ C 34 H M NO s . 

" semen, " seed " \ J J ' 34 zs 6 

Tabacum, U. S. ; leaves of nicotiana T. Nicotia, NC 10 H 7 . 

Lauracese. 
Bebeeru (bibiri) ; bark of Nectandra rodiei. Bebeerina, C 38 H 2I N0 6 . 

Melanthacese. 
Veratrum album, U. S. ; the rhizoma. \ 

viride, U. S. ; " \ Veratria, C M H H N0 6 . 

Sabadilla, U. S. ; the seed of V. sabadilla. J 
Colchici radix, U. S. ; the corm of C. autumnale. \ Pololiioii. (">) 
" semen, U. S. ; the seed " J ' {'' 

1 Nat. ord. Berberidese, closely allied to Menispermacese. 



312 ON THE ALKALOIDS. 



Aconitia, TJ. S., and Deljphinia. 

This alkaloid is directed to be prepared from the root by ex- 
tracting with boiling alcohol, evaporating, treating the alcoholic 
extract with water, and afterwards treating the concentrated aqueous 
solution with dilute sulphuric acid. The sulphate being decom- 
posed by ammonia, yields a precipitate of aconitia which requires 
to be purified, and is then in the condition of a white or yellowish 
powder containing water. It is, when anhydrous, in the form of a 
brittle mass, usually of a yellowish brown color. It imparts a 
sensation of numbness to the tongue, which is extremely powerful 
and characteristic. It is sparingly soluble in water, though forming 
soluble salts on the addition of acids ; it dissolves freely in ether, 
alcohol, and chloroform. The formula given for it is CgoII^NO^. 
Being a very small product of the root, it is extremely expensive 
and liable to adulteration ; probably very little that is sold as such 
is reasonably pure. 

Aconitia is one of the most virulent of poisons, and is not adapted 
to internal use. Externally applied, it produces on the skin a 
prickling sensation, followed by numbness and a feeling of constric- 
tion. Its principal use is in cases of neuralgia, in ointment made 
by triturating the alkaloid first with a little alcohol or oil, and then 
with an unctuous vehicle. From a half to two grains are added to 
one drachm of the ointment. The galenical preparations of aconite 
will answer every useful purpose to which aconitia can be applied. 

Delphinia is little known ; the drug from which it is prepared is 
rarely found in our commerce. 

Berberina, Cissampelina, Jfem'sjJermina. 

These three alkaloids are derived from members of the natural 
family of plants, Menispermacea\ They have no practical value as 
pharmaceutical preparations. Berberina, from colombo-root, of 
which it is the chief active constituent, would seem to deserve a 
trial at the hands of practitioners. It must not be confounded with 
bebeerina, another alkaloid, from bebeeru or bibiri bark, which, in 
the form of sulphate, is now much in vogue. 

The Opium Alkaloids. 

These are five in number: Morphia, narcotin or narcotina, codeia, 
paramorphia, or thebaina, and papaverina, besides meconic acid and 
several neutral crystalline principles. 

Morphia, U. S. 

Morphia, which is the only one commonly used in medicine, was 
the first discovered, and is the most abundant. It is the best and 
most familiar type of the alkaloids. 



MORPHIA. 



313 



There are various processes for its preparation, of which that of 
the Pharmacopoeia, already adverted to, is the simplest and best for 
the student who may be disposed to attempt this, by no means diffi- 
cult experiment. Eeduced in quantity to suit the purpose, it is 
nearly as follows : — 

Take of Opium, sliced .... 
Solution of ammonia 
Water, 
Alcohol, 
Animal charcoal, of each . 



f oSS. 



sufficient. 



Macerate the opium with f Ivj of water, working it with the 
hands or a pestle, as described under the head of Tincture of Opium, 
into a paste (if powdered opium is used, this is unnecessary) ; then 
digest it for twenty-four hours, and strain. Macerate or digest the 
residue in the same way, successively with similar portions of 
water, and strain ; then mix the infusions, evaporate to f 3viij, and 
filter. To the concentrated aqueous solution thus obtained add 



Fig. 182. 



Fig. 183. 




u 




x : r ',"" 



■iiiiiii 



Arrangement for filtration. 



first f Ivj of alcohol, and then f5ij of solution of ammonia, pre- 
viously mixed with about f Iss of alcohol ; cover the vessel and set 
it aside. After twenty-four hours pour in the remaining f 3ij of 
solution of ammonia, mixed, as before, with alcohol, and again set 
aside that the morphia may crystallize out. The only remaining 
process is to purify the crystals which are formed in the bottom of 
the vessel. This is done by dissolving them in boiling alcohol, 
and filtering, while hot, through animal charcoal. A common 
flask, Fig. 182, will serve for the solution, and, for small opera- 



314 ON THE ALKALOIDS. 

tions, the application of heat to the funnel will be unnecessary. It 
may be conveniently arranged over an evaporating dish, as shown 
in Fig. 183. The filtered liquid, as it falls, will be immediately 
cooled by contact with the dish, and the extended surface will favor 
the spontaneous evaporation of the alcohol, so that a small crop of 
crystals (40 to 60 grains) of morphia may be expected. 

This is an excellent method of testing the value of specimens of 
opium, except that, for approximate results, it is not necessary to 
carry out the last part of the directions, but is as well to take the 
weight of the crystallized morphia as at first thrown down. The 
animal charcoal deprives the product of color, but is apt to absorb 
a portion of the alkaloid also ; so that, to get the entire yield, the 
charcoal should be digested in a further portion of alcohol, which 
should be added to the filtrate. The motive for using alcohol with 
the ammonia added to the concentrated liquid in the first instance, 
is to take up the resinous coloring matters, which would otherwise 
contaminate the precipitate. 

Morphia, as thus obtained, is in small but brilliant prismatic 
crystals, which are transparent and colorless, intensely bitter when 
dissolved, but nearly insoluble in water, also insoluble in ether. It 
dissolves in about thirty parts of boiling alcohol, in fixed alkaline 
solutions, and with great facility in dilute acids, which it neutralizes, 
forming salts. Of course, it is entirely dissipated by heat. In 
powder, it strikes a deep blue color with neutral salts of sesqui- 
oxide, or with sesquichloride of iron, decomposes iodic acid with 
liberation of iodine, and forms, with nitric acid added to it in 
powder, a red compound passing into yellow. Crystallized, it has 
the composition 2HO,C 35 ,H 20 NO 6 . In the condition of crystals, 
owing to the water, it has nearly 6 per cent, more weight than in 
that of effloresced or dried powder. 

Officinal Sails. — These are three in number, as follows: sulphate, 
muriate, and acetate. They are made by forming solutions of the 
alkaloids in the appropriate acids and evaporating. 

Morphia Sulphas^ TJ. S. — This is in white feathery crystals, very 
soluble in water, of an intensely bitter taste ; it liberates morphia 
as a white precipitate in contact with alkali or alkaline carbonates, 
with which it is incompatible in solution. It is by far the most 
common of the morphia salts. Dose one-eighth to one-fourth grain. 

Morphia JIurias, TJ. S. — This is most used in England, where it is 
officinal as morphias hydrochloras. It is somewhat less soluble in 
water, though sufficiently so for use in medicine. Dose the same 
as of the sulphate. 

Morphice Acelas, TJ. S. This is a white powder, seldom crystalline 
in appearance. It is apt to be deficient in the proportion of the acid 
ingredient, and to be comparatively insoluble, in which case a few 
drops of acetic acid to the liquid will make a clear solution. This 
is much used for external application, though adapted also to the 
form of powder and pill. Dose the same as of the foregoing. 



ON THE ALKALOIDS. 315 

Valerianate of Morphia is an unofficinal salt, made by neutralizing 
the alkaloids with, valerianic acid. Its dose is from one-eighth to 
one-half grain. (See page 305.) 

Narcotina is a brilliant crystalline principle, possessing some pro- 
perties in common with the neutral principles, but now generally 
ranked with the alkaloids, from its power of forming salts with 
acids, which salts, however, are not neutral, but acid. One of its 
most important chemical differences from morphia is its property 
of dissolving in ether, which furnishes the means of separating it 
from the other constituents of opium. Narcotina is not narcotic. 
It has been given as a tonic and antiperiodic, in doses as high as half 
a drachm, without the production of narcotic symptoms. 

Godeia crystallizes sometimes in octohedrai crystals, with two 
equivalents of water, soluble in alcohol, ether, and in boiling water, 
but not in alkaline solutions. It does not exhibit the reactions 
given for morphia. It forms crystalline salts with acids. 

Paramorphia or thebaia is not soluble in alkalies. Does not react 
like morphia. 

Papaverina is an alkaloid in small acicular crystals, which turn 
blue with sulphuric acid; with muriatic acid in excess it forms 
a very insoluble compound. 

Sanguinarina. 

This alkaloid is derived from the root of one of our most familiar 
indigenous plants. It is a white, pearly substance, of an acrid 
taste, very soluble in alcohol, also soluble in ether. With acids it 
forms soluble salts, which are remarkable for their beautiful red, 
crimson, and scarlet colors. From this it is inferred that a native 
salt of this alkaloid is the occasion of the brilliant color of the 
fresh juice of the plant. (See page 164.) 

Comas. 

Conia is a volatile yellow, oily fluid, with a very characteristic 
odor resembling that of the urine of the mouse. It is decidedly 
alkaline in its reactions. It is soluble in 100 parts of water, float- 
ing on its surface when distilled with it. Alcohol dissolves it 
readily, as also ether, the fixed and volatile oils. It forms salts 
with acids, which are soluble, and some of them crystallizable. 

One of its most characteristic tests is that, when liberated in the 
form of vapor, it occasions a white cloud, like that of ammonia, 
when approached by a rod moistened with muriatic acid. This 
test, when applied to the extract of conium, by adding to it on a 
tile a few drops of solution of potassa, is much resorted to in con- 
nection with the odor, in judging of the quality of that extract. 

When exposed to the air, conia undergoes oxidation, being con- 
verted into a brown resinous matter, and evolving ammonia. Its 
composition is stated as NC 36 H 1S . 



!16 ON THE ALKALOIDS. 



The Cinchona Alkaloids. 



Quince Sulphas, U. S. 

This salt is prepared from various species of cinchona bark, 
which contains it in combination with kinic acid and a peculiar 
astringent principle called cincho-tannin. These combinations being 
only partially soluble in water, resort is had to an acid which libe- 
rates the alkaloid in a soluble form. The one used in our officinal 
process is muriatic, which is mixed with water in which the pow- 
dered bark is boiled. The very soluble muriate of quinia con- 
tained in the decoction is decomposed, giving up its acid to the 
lime, while the quinia is liberated, and, being insoluble, is precipi- 
tated with the excess of lime added, the water retaining the chloride 
of calcium resulting from the reaction, and most of the impurities, 
in solution. The precipitated quinia and excess of lime being now 
digested in alcohol, the former is dissolved, and the impure quinia 
is obtained by evaporating this alcoholic solution. The remaining 
part of the process consists in converting this into the officinal 
sulphate, at the same time rendering it pure. To accomplish 
this, the amorphous mass is dissolved in diluted sulphuric acid, and 
filtered through bone black, which contains sufficient carbonate of 
lime to neutralize the excess of sulphuric acid, and thus facilitate 
the crystallization of the sulphate as the solution cools. This 
process requires to be repeated, with the addition of acid, if the 
charcoal is too alkaline, till a white and pure product is the result. 

Quinidice Sulphas. 

This, as yet unofficinal salt, contains quvrridia, an alkaloid asso- 
ciated in many cinchona barks, particularly those imported from 
New Grenada, with variable proportions of quinia and cinchonia. 
Being somewhat more soluble than sulphate of quinia, sulphate of 
quinidia is found in the water from which the former salt has been 
crystallized, and by the appropriate treatment is extracted. When 
the cheaper barks above referred to are manipulated with, this 
is an important product, and, as will be again stated, is largely 
produced and used by some as a substitute for quinia. 

Cinchonioz Sulphas 

is another unofficinal alkaloid salt obtained by a similar process, 
especially from the pale cinchona barks, and now much used. It is 
more soluble than either of the sulphates of quinia or quinidia, and, 
if the proper kind of barks have been used, may be crystallized out 
of the solution which remains, after the separation of one or both 
of the others. 

Quinoidine, chinoidine, precipitated extract of bark, amorphous quintc^ 
are names given to an amorphous mass obtained by evaporating the 



CINCHONA ALKALOIDS. 317 

liquid which remains after the separation of the crystallizable alka- 
loids as above described. Its abundance seems to be in proportion 
to the degree of heat employed in the process, and as it increases 
the proportion of alkaloid diminishes. The extractum calisayicum 
referred to on page 161, differs from this in containing the crystal- 
lizable alkaloids besides the quinoidine. 

The cinchona bark alkaloids are of such importance to the prac- 
titioner of medicine, that some details in regard to their properties 
and relative value, and those of their salts, seem called for in this 
connection. 

Quinia is an insoluble white powder fusible into an amorphous 
brittle mass. It is freely soluble in alcohol and ether, and may be 
readily obtained by adding ammonia to the sulphate and washing 
on a filter. Its sulphate, as found in commerce, is in feathery 
white crystals much interlaced, which effloresce on exposure to the 
air, and are apt to fall down into a powder very much diminished 
in bulk. It is soluble in 740 parts cold water and 60 parts of alco- 
hol, but nearly insoluble in ether. It is very readily dissolved on 
the addition of a little sulphuric acid, which brings it to the condi- 
tion of an acid and uncrystallizable sulphate. It imparts to its 
solution a peculiar blue tinge called fluorescence, which may also 
be observed in the infusum cinchona? comp. It is now considered 
to consist of one equivalent of quinia, one of sulphuric acid, and 
eight of water, four of which may be lost by efflorescence. 

Quinidia. — Quinidina may be obtained in shining colorless crys- 
tals, which are readily reduced to a white powder ; they melt with- 
out decomposition, and, on cooling, concrete into a grayish white 
crystalline mass. When ignited, they burn with the odor of kinole 
and the volatile oil of bitter almonds ; they have a less intensely 
bitter taste than quinia. This alkaloid is nearly insoluble in water, 
soluble in 12 parts of alcohol and 143 of ether. It forms crystal- 
lizable and generally soluble salts. Its sulphate is in long, shining 
white crystals, as generally found in commerce interlaced and re- 
sembling those of sulphate of quinia. It is soluble in 130 parts of 
cold water, freely soluble in alcohol, and almost insoluble in ether. 
It contains six equivalents of water of crystallization. 

Cinchonia may be obtained in white crystals almost insoluble in 
water, alcohol, and ether. It is less bitter, because less soluble, 
than its associated alkaloids. It melts, and is with difficulty sub- 
limed. It forms soluble salts with the strong acids. Its sulphate, 
which, like the foregoing, was formerly considered a'disulphate, is 
in short, oblique, shining prisms, which contain two equivalents of 
water of crystallization. It is soluble in 54 parts of cold water, 
and readily in alcohol, but not in ether. On the addition of sul- 
phuric acid, it passes into the very soluble acid sulphate. 

Of the three remarkable principles above described as existing 
in cinchona barks, cinchonia was the first discovered, having been 



318 ON THE ALKALOIDS. 

isolated in an impure state as early as 1803, and fully described 
as an alkaloid by Pelletier and Caventou in 1820. Quinia was 
discovered soon after by the same chemists. Not until 1833 was 
the existence of quinidia announced. In that year, Henry and De- 
londre announced its discovery, but afterwards abandoned the idea 
of its being a distinct principle ; so that no further attention was 
bestowed upon it until, about the year 1844, the celebrated German 
chemist, Winkler, investigated its properties, and conferred upou it 
the name quinidine, which, to correspond with our nomenclature, is 
changed to quinidia. 

The increasing scarcity and high price of sulphate of quinia, 
occasioned in part by the restrictions placed upon the trade in 
genuine Calisaya bark by the Bolivian government, have had the 
effect to direct the attention of physicians to other and similar 
remedial agents ; but, notwithstanding the frequent announcement 
of favorable results from the trial of such, there seems a general 
disposition to withhold confidence from any but the products of 
that remarkable family of South American trees whose history has 
been so long connected with the cure of periodical diseases. The 
introduction into commerce of large quantities of cheap cinchona 
barks from new sources, has been another result of the long-continued 
scarcity of the older and officinal kinds. Notwithstanding these 
have been regarded by many with jealousy, and doubts have been 
entertained of their therapeutic value, the study of their chemical 
history has shown that some of them are not less rich in alkaloids 
than the finest monopoly barks, and experiments in regard to the 
therapeutic value of their characteristic alkaloids have shown a 
close resemblance in physiological effects to quinia itself. Some 
Bogota barks, beside containing the other alkaloids, abound in 
quinia, which can already be produced at fifty cents an ounce less 
than quinia, and will probably become much cheaper as the de- 
mand increases. 

Dr. Pepper and other practitioners connected with the Pennsyl- 
vania Hospital have used sulphate of quinidia in the same or less 
doses than the quinia salt, and with equal success; and the same 
view is confirmed by the experience of others in private practice. 

Sulphate of cinchonia, which had been generally overlooked, has 
also been much used of latter time as a substitute for the quinia 
salt; and, although some physicians assert that larger doses of it 
are required, I am told by Dr. Conrad, the Apothecary of Pennsyl- 
vania Hospital, that in that Institution the three cinchona alkaloids 
are used indiscriminately and in the same doses. Through Dr. 
R. P. Thomas I am informed that the cinchonia salt has been used 
with satisfaction as a substitute for that of quinia in the Philadel- 
phia and Northern Dispensaries, and in the Western Clinical In- 
firmary, and Philadelphia Hospital, Blockley, where many inter- 
mittents are daily under treatment. The average prices of the 
salts are as follows: Sulphate of quinia $3 an ounce, sulphate of 
quinidia $2 50, sulphate of cinchonia $1 00. 



CINCHONA ALKALOIDS. 319 

Quinoidine is sold at a still lower price than either of trie crys- 
tallized products. I am told that the demand for it has not justi- 
fied manufacturers in preparing all that is produced, for sale. Its 
usual close is double that of the crystallized salt. It is freely solu- 
ble in diluted sulphuric acid. 

Mode of distinguishing the Cinchona Alkaloids from each other, and 
from Adulterations. 

1. With chlorine water. — When sulphate of quinia is dissolved 
in chlorine water, and ammonia added, a green color is produced. 
If a solution of ferrocyanide of potassium be added to the same 
solution before the ammonia, it usually strikes a red color. When 
sulphate of cinchonia is dissolved in chlorine water, and ammonia 
added, a white precipitate falls. When sulphate of quinidia is 
treated in the same way, its appearance is not changed or its be- 
havior is similar to the last. 

2. With ether. — Quinia is soluble in ether, cinchonia insoluble, and 
quinidia partially soluble. 

Trommels test. — Sixty drops of ether, twenty of aqua ammonia, 
and ten grains of the sulphate, are mixed in a test tube ; the quinia 
being soluble in the ether, will not appear, but any considerable 
admixture of cinchonia or quinidia will separate as a layer of white 
powder between the aqueous liquid and the supernatant ether. If 
quinidia be present, it will be dissolved by a large addition of 
ether, while cinchonia will not. 

3. HerapatKs test. — Dissolve five grains of sulphate in a fluidrachm 
of acetic acid, add a few drops of tincture of iodine, and heat to the 
boiling point, or until a clear solution is formed ; as the liquid cools, 
if the quinia salt were used, a beautiful crystalline iodo-sulphate of 
quinia will be deposited in thin transparent plates, which reflect 
the rich iridescent green color of the elytra of Spanish flies. With 
sulphate of quinidia, tufts of chocolate- colored crystals, and of cin- 
chonia, a brick red deposit, are produced. These crystals by polar- 
ized light exhibit most curious and characteristic properties. 

4. The presence in the sulphates of cinchona alkaloids of com- 
mon adulterations may be detected as follows : — 

The sulphates are entirely soluble in dilute sulphuric acid, and 
entirely dissipated by heat. Sulphate of lime may be detected by 
its insolubility, and by remaining after ignition on a piece of pla- 
tina foil. Starch would remain insoluble in dilute acid, and would 
be recognized by the well-known iodine test. Stearic and mar- 
garic acids would float in the solution, and are soluble in ether. 
Salicine, if more than ten per cent, were present, would show with 
concentrated sulphuric acid a red color. Phloridzin would be de- 
tected as yielding a yellow color with the same reagent. Sugar or 
mannite would be blackened by concentrated sulphuric acid. Ox- 
alate of ammonia would be detected by giving off ammoniacal 
vapors with caustic potash. 



320 ON THE ALKALOIDS. 

Emetia, Amicina, Lohelina. 

Emetia, or, as it is sometimes called, emetina, is the active prin- 
ciple of ipecacuanha, from which it may be obtained as a white 
powder, not crystalline, of a bitter taste, soluble in alcohol, spar- 
ingly so in water, and precipitated, like the other alkaloids, by 
tannin ; its native salt existing in the root is taken up by water, 
wine, and diluted alcohol. The commercial emetia is very impure, 
and not preferable for ordinary use to the various Galenical prepa- 
rations of ipecac, in which the peculiar astringent and acid princi- 
ples are associated with the alkaloid. 

Arnicina. — This alkaloid is not much known. It is stated to be 
volatile and to resemble lobelina; it is associated in the flowers 
with a volatile oil, and bitter principle called cytisin. Its compo- 
sition is unknoAvn. 

Lobelina was discovered by the late Professor S. Calhoun, of 
Philadelphia, in 1834, and first isolated in a state of purity by 
Professor Procter, in 1842. It is a liquid lighter than water, and 
when dropped into that fluid rises to its surface and spreads out 
like a drop of oil, then gradually dissolves without agitation, form- 
ing a transparent solution. It is very soluble in alcohol and ether, 
the latter readily removing it from an aqueous solution ; it also dis- 
solves in fixed and volatile oils. It forms crystallizable salts, with 
numerous acids. This is most conveniently obtained by extracting 
the seed with alcohol acidulated with acetic acid, which forms a 
fixed salt with the alkaloid, evaporating and treating with mag- 
nesia, and then with ether, from which it may be obtained by eva- 
poration. 

It is not obtained on an economical scale for use in medicine. 
Lobelina, as it exists in the plant combined with lobelic acid, is 
decomposable by a moderate heat, as also by the action of strong 
acids. 

Strychnia, U. S., and Brucia. 

These principles are associated together and combined with 
igasuric acid in nux vomica and bean of St. Ignatius. The former 
only is officinal, though the latter is important from being almost 
invariably present in the commercial article. 

Strychnia, U. S. — The seeds of nux vomica are directed in the 
U. S. P. for the preparation of this alkaloid. After their comminu- 
tion, which is a work of no little difficulty, they are treated with 
water acidulated with muriatic acid ; after concentration, the muri- 
ate thus formed is decomposed by lime, which precipitates the 
strychnia along with the excess of lime employed, and some im- 
purities. The alkaloid is now dissolved out from the precipitate 
by boiling alcohol, and deposited, on evaporating and cooling. To 
purify it still further, it is next converted into a sulphate, boiled 
with animal charcoal, and precipitated by ammonia. St. Ignatius's 



STRYCHNIA, BRUCIA, AND ATROPIA. 321 

bean contains a large proportion of strychnia and less brucia than 
nux vomica, but is not so abundant and cheap. 

Strychnia, as thus prepared, is a white or grayish white powder, 
which may be crystallized by the slow evaporation of an alcoholic 
solution. It is distinguished by extraordinary bitterness. It is 
soluble in boiling alcohol, but to a limited extent only in water, 
cold alcohol, and ether. It is soluble in volatile oils. Being gene- 
rally contaminated with brucia, it strikes a red color with nitric 
acid ; but the following tests are more reliable : Eub a very little 
of the powder with a few drops of sulphuric acid on a slab, and add 
a minute quantity of solution of chromate of potassa. A splendid 
violet color will be produced if it contain strychnia. Or thus : add 
a little of the powder to a few drops of sulphuric acid containing 
T i o of nitric ; it will form a colorless solution ; but, on the addition 
of a little peroxide of lead, a bright blue color will be developed, 
which will pass rapidly into violet, then gradually into red, and 
ultimately to yellow. 

Sulphate of strychnia is a crystallized salt, which is only preferred 
from being soluble. 

The medical uses of strychnia are those of a tonic, with a special 
action upon the nerves of motion. It is much employed in a 
variety of diseases. Dose one-twelfth to one-sixth of a grain. 

In doses of two or three grains, strychnia is one of the most 
powerful and fatal of poisons. Immense quantities are sold for the 
purpose of killing animals, particularly dogs, on whom the most 
certain and rapid fatal effect is produced by its use. In cases of 
poisoning by strychnia, the most prompt and vigorous efforts are 
necessary to arrest its effects. The jaws must be prevented from 
becoming permanently closed, as in tetanus. Emetics should be 
tried, and will seldom act. Tannic acid or other astringents will 
precipitate the alkaloid in an insoluble form. Chloroform has been 
found to arrest the effects of the poison. In one memorable case, 
I saw the life of an individual saved by the application of the poles 
of a magnetic battery over the stomach, which aroused that organ, 
and, by excessive vomiting, produced the relaxation of the spasm. 

Brucia is more soluble than strychnia, and is obtained by evapo- 
rating the alcoholic solution after the latter salt is crystallized out. 
It is a less powerful therapeutic agent, being safely employed in 
doses of from two to four grains. It resembles morphia in turning 
red with nitric acid, becoming yellow by beat, and violet on the 
addition, when cool, of proto-chloride of tin. It is, like morphia, 
insoluble in ether. 

Atropia, Baturia or Eyoscyamia, and Solania. 

Atropia, as procured both from the root and the herb of belladon- 
na, is in white silky crystals, of a bitter taste, slightly soluble in wa- 
ter, freely in absolute alcohol, also in chloroform and ether. Composi- 
21 



322 ON THE ALKALOIDS. 

tion C 34 H 23 N0 6 . The simplest method of obtaining it is by the use 
of chloroform, which extracts it from the juice of the plant along 
with a green resinous matter, from which it may be separated by 
the use of sulphuric acid, forming a sulphate which readily yields 
atropia on the addition of an acid. One-tenth of a grain is con- 
sidered its appropriate dose, though, like aconitia, it is best adapted 
to external use, and is almost exclusively applied in dilute solution 
to the eye to dilate the pupil. 

Daturia, which, according to the received opinion, is identical 
with atropia, is derived in exceedingly small quantities from stra- 
monium seeds. 

Jlyosciamia, by similar processes, is obtained from the seeds con- 
taining it. 

iSolania, which resembles the foregoing in some of its properties, 
is stated to have a different composition. 

Though undoubtedly the active principles of the plants yielding 
these alkaloids are found in commerce only as rare and curious 
products, their expensiveness and inconvenient concentration inter- 
fere with their use in medicine. 

Nicotia, or Nicotina. 

Nicotia is a volatile alkaloid, which, like conia, is obtained by 
distillation from the plant containing it, an acid being placed in the 
receiver to fix the alkaloid. From this it is afterwards liberated 
by a strong alkali in the form of an oily, transparent, colorless 
liquid. Specific gravity 1.048, becoming yellow by keeping, ab- 
sorbing oxygen from the air, which turns it thick and brown. It 
volatilizes at 482° F., leaving a carbonaceous residue. The vapor 
which rises is so powerful in its smell and irritating properties that 
one drop of it diffused in a room renders the atmosphere insup- 
portable. It is very soluble in water, in alcohol, in ether, and in 
fat oils. It is separable from an aqueous solution by ether. It 
thus has a wider range of solubility than any of the alkaloids. Its 
salts with acids crystallize with difficulty. It is a compound of 
hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen, NII 7 C 10 . The volatility of this 
principle insures its diffusion, along with empyreumatic products, in 
tobacco smoke, so that it is inhaled to a certain extent by smokers. 
It exists in the different commercial varieties of tobacco in about 
the following proportions : Havana 2 per cent., Maryland 2.3, Vir- 
ginia 6.87, Kentucky 6.09. 

Orfila has lately investigated the properties of nicotia, and ascer- 
tained with precision its chemical habitudes. These are detailed in 
a paper copied in the American Journal of Pharmacy, vol. xxiv. p. 
1-42, from the London Pharmaceutical Journal. 



TESTS FOE DISTINGUISHING THE ALKALOIDS. 823 

Bebeerina. 

Bebeerin (bebeerina), obtained from the bark of a tree growing in 
Guiana, is an uncrjstallizable alkaloid, in the form of a yellow 
resinous-looking mass, soluble in alcohol, and slightly in ether and 
in water. The commercial sulphate of bebeerin is impure, but 
highly esteemed as a tonic and antiperiodic. It is in dark brown 
glittering slabs, readily soluble by the aid of acids. Dose, three to 
ten grains ; from a scruple to a drachm between the paroxysms in 
intermittents. 

Ver atria, IT. S., and Colchicia. 

Veratria is procured from cevadilla seeds by treating them with 
alcohol, evaporating the tincture to an extract, and treating this 
with water acidulated with sulphuric acid; this solution containing 
sulphate of veratria is next decomposed by magnesia, which is 
added in excess; the precipitated veratria thrown down is now 
washed and separated from the excess of magnesia by alcohol, from 
which it is obtained by evaporation, but requires still further puri- 
fying with animal charcoal, &c. A pound of the seeds yields about 
a drachm of veratria. 

This product is a white uncrystallizable powder, extremely acrid 
when diffused in the air, producing excessive irritation of the nos- 
trils. It is freely soluble in alcohol, less so in ether, and almost 
insoluble in water. Its sulphate and muriate are crystallizable, but 
are not met with in commerce. It is soluble in diluted acetic acid, 
from which ammonia and solution of tannin throw down white 
precipitates. Among its most striking peculiarities are the intense 
red color it assumes on the addition of sulphuric acid, and the yel- 
low solution it forms with nitric. According to some, veratria, as 
procured by the officinal process, is a complex body ; it is said to 
contain another alkaloid, sabadillia, and a resinoid, veratrin. 

The medical uses of veratria are confined chiefly to gouty and 
neuralgic affections, in the treatment of which, it is used internally 
in doses of T *j to I grain, repeated, or externally in ointment, of 
about 9j to the ounce. 

Colchicia is little known; by some it is supposed to be identical 
with veratria, although it is stated to be more soluble in water; it 
has been isolated but rarely, and its composition is not made out. 

Tests for Distinguishing the Alkaloids. 

The following, taken from Dr. A. T. Thompson, conveys in a 
compact form the leading facts applicable to distinguishing the 
alkaloids. Some- general characteristics are noticed at the begin- 
ning of this chapter, and some particular ones under the several 
heads. 



324 ON THE ALKALOIDS. 

Method of Distinguishing the following Vegetable Alkaloids — Atropia, 
Brucia, JDelphia, Ernetia, Morphia, Solania, /Strychnia, Veratria — 
when they are in powder. 

Treat the powder, first with nitric acid, which is colored red by 
hrucia, delphia, morphia, and the strychnia of commerce, but not 
by pure strychnia. If the reddened acid become of a violet hue 
on the addition of protochloride of tin, after the nitric solution has 
cooled, the alkaline powder is brucia: if the reddened acid gradu- 
ally become black and carbonaceous, it is delphia. If the powder 
be soluble without decomposition, and decompose iodic acid, evolv- 
ing free iodine, it is morphia: if it is not fusible, and does not de- 
compose iodic acid, it is strychnia. If the powder greens, instead 
of reddening nitric acid, it is solania: if it is insoluble in ether, 
and does not redden nitric acid, it is emetia: if it be soluble in 
ether, and does not redden nitric acid, but melts when heated and 
volatilizes, it is atropia: if it is thus affected by ether and nitric 
acid, but is not volatilized, it is veratria. 



PART IV. 

INORGANIC PHARMACEUTICAL PREPARATIONS. 



CHAPTER I. 

ON MINERAL ACIDS. 

Lsr Part IV., I design to present an outline of the subject of 
pharmaceutical chemistry as pertaining to substances of inorganic 
origin, presenting in tabular form with short descriptive paragraphs 
the leading medicines of this class, furnished by the manufacturing 
chemist ; while those which fall within the range of the dispensing 
office and shop, will be treated of more fully, and in such detail as 
to render their preparation easy and uniformly successful. 

The difference between that part of the Pharmacopoeia called the 
List, in which the materia medica is presented, clothed in its appro- 
priate nomenclature, and accompanied by well-ascertained stand- 
ards whereby the genuineness and purity of many of the individual 
articles may be known ; and that part occupied with formulae or 
recipes designed to direct the apothecary and physician in the pre- 
paration of the crude articles of the list into eligible forms for use, 
has been fully presented on page 56 in an extract from the preface 
to the Pharmacopoeia there inserted. This arrangement, however, 
includes among the preparations many articles which in this 
country are prepared exclusively in large manufacturing establish- 
ments; in fact, so generally has the manufacture of chemical pre- 
parations been concentrated in the hands of a few leading manu- 
facturers, that even the largest dispensing establishments are in the 
habit of resorting to these for their supplies of all, except a few of 
the more readily prepared and extemporaneous articles. Owing to 
this fact, much of the space heretofore devoted in pharmaceutical 
works to descriptions and illustrations of apparatus and processes is 
now destitute of practical value to by far the largest class of stu- 
dents and readers. 

In treating of these subjects, therefore, I shall for convenience 
disregard the division in the Pharmacopoeia, and present in detail 
only those . preparations which apothecaries are accustomed to 
make, and which physicians might, if they would, prepare for 
themselves, with simple and cheap forms of apparatus. 

In adopting this course, which is in harmony with the preceding 



326 ON MINERAL ACIDS. 

parts of the work, I would not be understood as underrating the 
value of practical chemical knowledge to the student or practitioner, 
whether of medicine or pharmacy. In no pursuit is a knowledge 
of chemistry unimportant. As the key which unlocks the phy- 
sical sciences, and opens the most hidden secrets of nature, chemis- 
try is invaluable to every industrial pursuit, and in every relation 
of life, and to no class is it more so than to the physician, the ob- 
ject of whose study is the highest and most intricate piece of 
nature's handiwork. The young man who would turn his atten- 
tion in this direction may avail himself of numerous elementary 
works, adapted to impart accurate knowledge by means of experi- 
ments to be performed with cheap apparatus, and so arranged as to 
lead by gradual steps to the comprehension of facts which would 
otherwise be abstruse and difficult. 

Of works of this description, it will be sufficient to name Bow- 
man's Introduction to Practical Chemistry, Stockhart's Chemistry, and 
Francis's Chemical Experiments, while the more advanced student 
may consult with advantage the works of Fownes, Graham, Gmelin, 
and the numerous other leading modern chemists. 

The object of the present work is not to impart chemical prin- 
ciples, but to improve in its humble sphere the industrial applica- 
tions of the science to the healing art. 

Acida. 

All the inorganic acids employed in pharmacy are compounds, 
rich in oxygen, with the exceptions of muriatic and hydriodic, in 
which that element is wanting. 

Acids are electro-negative compounds ; they usually have a sour 
taste, change the blue color of litmus to red, and affect other vege- 
table colors similarly ; with alkalies, whether vegetable or mineral, 
they form neutral salts in which the properties of both the ingre- 
dients are lost, while new properties are acquired. They also unite 
with the oxides of the metals proper, forming a great variety of 
valuable compounds which frequently exhibit slightly acid reac- 
tions, and retain the peculiarities of the metal from which they are 
prepared, modified by the nature of the acid ingredient. 

The names of the mineral acids formed from the same element 
vary in their terminations according to the number of equivalents 
of oxygen they contain: thus, sulphunc acid, S0 3 , sulphurows acid, 
S0 2 , Nitnc, K0 5 , Nitrows, N0 4 , &c, the degree of acidification being 
marked by the terminations ic, and ous. 

The strong acids act upon cork, and should be kept in ground 
stoppered bottles ; these are made of extra strength, of green glass, 
called acid bottles. Unless the stopper and neck are very well 
ground and fitted to each other, they require to be cemented or 
luted together to prevent the escape of the acid ; this may be done 
by warming the stopper in the flame of a spirit lamp, and inserting 
it in the neck of the bottle till the two surfaces are dried and 



ACIDA. 327 

warmed, then coating it with a thin stratum of melted wax, and 
inserting it securely in its place, and tying it over with kid or 
bladder. The more common mineral acids are found in commerce 
of three qualities. The commonest and cheapest used for manu- 
facturing purposes, the medicinally pure, M. P., and the chemically 
pure, 0. P. The use of the latter is chiefly in analysis. The sp. 
gr. furnishes a ready means of testing the strength of the liquid 
acids, tables being given in chemical works showing the relation 
of the sp. gr. to the strength. 

The mineral acids generally belong to the class of tonics with 
refrigerant and astringent properties. Externally, they are caustic, 
and require to be applied with care, as many know from experience 
who have used them, nitric acid especially, for warts. Nitric acid 
is also used as an alterative in syphilitic and other forms of disease. 

They are apt to injure the teeth, upon which they also produce 
a very unpleasant and characteristic sensation. To obviate this in 
taking them they should be largely diluted, and should be sucked 
through a small glass tube, which may be made by scratching a 
piece of the tube sold in the shops with a file ; this enables the 
operator to break it at the point required, and then, by heating the 
sharp broken edges over an alcohol or gas flame till the glass melts, 
a rounded edge is left. 

One of the most interesting points in connection with the strong 
mineral acids, is their occasional accidental use in poisonous doses. 
They are among the most powerful of poisons, owing to their cor- 
rosive properties, producing the most painful and dangerous results. 
The best antidotes are large draughts of alkaline and oily liquids ; 
the alkali to neutralize the acid, and the oil to obtund its action 
upon the delicate mucous surfaces. The most ready resort in such 
emergencies is frequently soap, preferably Castile, which should be 
made into a very strong solution and given ad libitum. 

The following vegetable acids have already been treated of under 
that head : Acidum aceticum, acidum aceticum dilutum, aciclum 
benzoicum, acidum citricum, acidum tartaricum, acidum hydrocy- 
anicum dilutum, acidum gallicum, acidum tannicum, and acidum 
valerianicum. 

Of the mineral acids, the following are used in medicine, and, 
except nitrous or nitroso -nitric and phosphoric, which are in Italics, 
are officinal in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia : — 

So. er. Dose. 

Acidum Carbonicum, C0 2 . (See Aquae, Medicalse.') 
Muriaticum, gaseous, H,Cl,-f- water . 
Muriaticum dilutum, 1 part to 3 of water 
Nitricum, liquid, HO, N0 S +3H0 
Nitroso-nitricum, " " +N0 4 

Nitricum dilutum, 1 part to 6 of water 
Nitro muriaticum, 1 part nit. to 2 muriatic acid 
Sulphuricum, HO, S0 3 , .... 

" dilutum, 1 part to 13 water . 

" aromaticum, alcoholic with aromatics 

Phosphoricum, glacial, HO, P0 3 , . . . solid. 

" dilutum, 1 part to 10 of water . 1.064 n\,xv to xl. 



1.16. 

1.046. 

1.42. 

1.07. 


rnjij to v. 
n\xv to xl. 
try to iv. 
try to iv. 
TTL xv to xl. 


1.845. 
1.09. 


nyij to v. 
ttU to ij. 
TTL xv to xl. 


3 


TTLXV to XXX. 



328 ON MINERAL ACIDS. 

Acidum Muriaticum, TJ. S. {Hydrochloric or Ohlorohydric Acid, HC1.) 

Prepared by the action of sulphuric acid and water on chloride 
of sodium (common salt), sulphate of soda and hydrochloric acid 
are formed. The latter gas is distilled over, the process being con- 
ducted in a retort or flask, connected with a receiver containing 
water, which absorbs it rapidly in proportion as it is refrigerated. 
A colorless or slightly yellow transparent liquid, giving off white 
acrid fumes on exposure to the air. It should not dissolve gold- 
leaf, as shown by the acid after digesting with it, giving no precipi- 
tate with protochloride of tin. The absence of saline impurities is 
shown by its being entirely volatile, and yielding no precipitate 
with chloride of barium or ammonia in excess. 

Acidum muriaticum dilutum is readily made by diluting the 
foregoing with water. The officinal recipe for making Oj is as 
follows : — 

Take of Muriatic acid .... f siv. 
Distilled water . . . f 3xij. 

Mix them in a glass vessel. 

The specific gravity of this is 1.046. If the strong acid used is 
below the standard strength, it should be added in rather larger 
proportion, observing to reach exactly the specific gravity here 
named, as shown by a good hydrometer for liquids heavier than 
water, or by a 1,000 gr. bottle. 

Acidum Xitricum, U. S. (Aquafortis, Nitric Acid, HO, jST0 5 , + 3IIO.) 

Prepared by the action of sulphuric acid in excess upon nitrate 
of potassa (saltpetre) in a glass retort, when nitric acid and bisul- 
phate of potassa are formed. The acid, being volatile, is distilled 
over by the application of heat. It is a colorless transparent liquid, 
with powerfully acrid odor, and is exceedingly corrosive, staining 
the skin yellow. The strongest acid, containing one equivalent of 
water, has the specific gravity 1.521 ; but, owing to the presence of 
water in the ingredients used in its preparation, and its mixing 
readily in all proportions with water, it is usually weaker, and has 
its specific gravity reduced in proportion to its dilution. In the 
Pharmacopoeia of 18-10, the officinal strength was 1.5, but it has 
been changed in the last edition to 1.42, as stated in the Syllabus, 
the object being to adapt it more nearly to the usual strength of 
the commercial article, and to establish a standard easily attained. 
The proportion added to water in making the diluted article has 
been changed to correspond. It fumes in the air like muriatic. 
The principal impurities are nitrous acid, which is shown by a red 
color; sulphuric acid, which may be detected by adding to the 
diluted acid a solution of chloride of barium and chlorine, or muri- 



ACIDTJM NITKICUM. 



329 



atie acid, which would occasion a white precipitate with nitrate of 
silver. Nitric acid itself is remarkable for furnishing salts which 
are invariably soluble. 

Nitrous acid (though, correctly speaking, the name is applied to a 
red-colored gas, having the composition N0 4 , formed whenever 
binoxide of nitrogen, N0 2 , escapes into the air) is commonly under- 
stood in trade to apply to fuming red-colored nitric acid, such as 
passes over chiefly at the commencement and close of the process 
of distilling nitrate of potassa with sulphuric acid as above. This 
kind of nitric acid contains nitrous acid fumes, which the manufac- 
turers usually separate from the acid of commerce by boiling, thus 
rendering it colorless. The best and most distinctive name for the 
article under consideration is nitroso-nitric acid. Its chief use is 
in making Hope's camphor mixture, which is elsewhere spoken of 
as having peculiar value when made with this form of acid. As the 
preparation of nitric and nitroso-nitric acid may often be desirable 
to the physician or apothecary, I insert a view of the necessary 
apparatus. If the receiver is 
well refrigerated, there will be ri g- 184 - 

no difficulty in collecting the 
acid. No luting of any kind is 
used. At the commencement of 
the process red fumes come over, 
and, after the nitrate of potassa 
is nearly exhausted, they com- 
mence to come over again, which 
is the signal to desist. The red 
fuming acid is now put away 
for use, or, if the colorless is 
preferred, is heated or exposed 
to the air to allow of the escape 
of the nitrous fumes. 

The extemporaneous process 
for the production of nitrous 
fumes in nitric acid, is to drop 
into a vial containing it a few chips of some pure kind of wood ; 
on this, part of the N0 5 will act, producing oxidation of the lig- 
neous matter, and liberating N0 4 . This process is only suggested 
where the last is impracticable. 




Acidum Nitricum Dilutum. 

Take of Nitric acid . . . . fsj. 

Distilled water . . . . f 3vj. 
Mix them in a glass vessel. 

The specific gravity of this is 1.07, and 100 grains saturate 20 
grains of crystallized bicarbonate of potassa. 



330 ON MINERAL ACIDS. 

Acidum Nitromuriaticum, U. S. {Aqua Regia.) 

Take of Nitric acid fjiv. 

Muriatic acid faviij. 

Mix them in a glass vessel, and, when effervescence lias ceased, 
keep the product in a well-ground glass-stoppered bottle in a cool 
and dark place. This forms a deep yellow corrosive fuming liquid 
containing chlorine and nitric oxide in an unknown state of com- 
bination. The acid dissolves gold, from the free chlorine present. 
It should be made in small quantities, as required, care being taken 
to allow the effervescence to cease before securing the stopper in 
the bottle. 

Acidum Sidphuricum, U. S. (Oil of Vitriol, Sulphuric Acid, 
HO,S0 3 .) 

Made by burning sulphur and nitrate of potassa together in leaden 
chambers. Sulphur, when burned, forms sulphurous acid (S0 2 ), 
which, in contact in the form of vapor with nitrous acid from the 
burning nitre and water, becomes more highly oxidized into sul- 
phuric acid, S0 3 . 

It is an oily-looking, very heavy liquid, without color when pure, 
having no odor, but an intensely acid caustic taste. It becomes 
darkened in color by contact with vegetable substances, which it 
chars by abstracting from them the elements of water. When 
mixed with water, it readily combines with it, disengaging heat. 
Its strong affinity for water is one of its useful properties. When 
largely diluted with water, it is apt to deposit a white precipitate of 
sulphate of lead derived from the leaden vessels used in concentrat- 
ing it. Arsenic is an occasional impurity, which may be detected 
by sulphuretted hydrogen, giving a yellow precipitate when passed 
through it. It is only prescribed internally, though sometimes 
prescribed in ointment in one of the officinal diluted forms which 
follow. 

Acidum Sulphur icum Dilutum, U. S. 

Take of Sulphuric acid f aj. 

Distilled water f Jxiij. 

Add the acid gradually to the water in a glass vessel and mix 
them. The specific gravity of this is 1.09, and 100 grains of it 
saturate 25 grains of crystallized bicarbonate of potassa. Upon 
standing, the white precipitate as first formed (sulphate of lead) 
will be deposited, and the pure diluted acid may be decanted for 



ACIDUM PHOSPHOEICUM DILTJTUM. 381 

Acidum Sulphuricum Aromaticum, U. S. {Elixir of Vitriol?) 

Take of Sulphuric acid . . . ffiiiss. 

Ginger, in coarse powder . . §j. 

Cinnamon, do. . . §iss. 

Alcohol q.s. (to make two pints.) 

Add the acid gradually to Oj alcohol, and allow the liquor to 
cool. Mix the ginger and cinnamon, and having put them into a 
percolator, pour alcohol gradually upon them until a pint of filtered 
liquor is obtained. Lastly, mix the diluted acid and the tincture. 
Formerly the tincture was made by treating the powdered aroma- 
tics directly with the mixed alcohol and acid. The present process 
is an improvement, giving a clearer and more elegant tincture. Elixir 
of vitriol is stronger than diluted sulphuric acid, though its dose in 
drops is usually about the same, the alcoholic liquid giving smaller 
drops than the aqueous. 

This preparation is very extensively used as a refrigerant, tonic, 
and astringent. It is a popular remedy for night-sweats in phthisis, 
and for debility generally. In making solutions and pills of qui- 
nine, also in the compound infusion of cinchona, it has important 
pharmaceutical uses. 

Acidum Phosphor icum. {Glacial or Monohydraled Phosphoric Acid) 

This is prepared from calcined bones, bone phosphate of lime, by 
decomposing them with sulphuric acid, by which process a super- 
phosphate of lime is produced (the article used as a basis for the 
manure known by that name). The superphosphate is neutralized 
by carbonate of ammonia, which generates phosphate of ammonia 
in solution with precipitation of phosphate of lime. By calcining 
phosphate of ammonia at a red heat, the volatile ingredient is ex- 
pelled, and the solid HO,P0 5 remains. It is in transparent glassy 
looking solid masses, of a very sour taste, and without odor, and 
freely soluble in water, with which it forms the next preparation. 

Acidum Phosphor icum Dilutum. 

This may be prepared by dissolving forty-five and a half grains 
of glacial phosphoric acid in one fluiclounce of distilled water, about 
one part to ten by weight, or by the process of the London Phar- 
macopoeia, by the action of nitric acid diluted with water upon phos- 
phorus, by which the phosphorus is oxidized at the expense of 
the acid, and phosphoric acid results, It is a colorless liquid with- 
out odor, of an agreeable acid taste, sp. gr. 1.064. It should not 
precipitate chloride of barium or nitrate of silver, nor be colored by 
sulphuretted hydrogen, either before or after a silver coin has been 



382 THE ALKALIES AXD THEIR SALTS. 

digested in it, thus showing the absence of sulphuric nitric acids, 
chlorides, and metallic impurities. It is employed in the prepara- 
tion of the phosphatic lozenges and of the syrups of phosphate 
of lime. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE ALKALIES AXD THEIR SALTS. 

Alkalies are electro-positive bodies ; they may be divided into 
organic alkalies or alkaloids, which have already been considered, 
and inorganic alkalies which are oxides of peculiar, light, and very 
combustible metals. Ammonia forms a connecting link between 
these, and may be classed with either, though most conveniently 
with the latter. The three alkalies used in medicine, and to be 
presented in the present chapter, are, potassa, soda, and ammonia. 
They possess in common the property of turning vegetable reds to 
green, and the yellow color of turmeric, and some other vegetable 
yellows, to brown. They neutralize acids, deprive them more or 
less of acidity, and form with them salts which are sometimes acid, 
sometimes alkaline, and sometimes neutral, according to the pro- 
portions and relative strengths of the acids employed. 

The beautiful laws which govern the formation of salts have been 
very thoroughly studied, and are fully laid down in works on che- 
mistry ; a knowledge of these, in connection with the system of 
nomenclature founded on them, is in the highest degree important, 
whether to the practical or theoretical chemist. 

The plan of this work embraces only such reference to the laws 
of combination as the pharmaceutical history of some of the leading 
chemicals will necessarily bring into view. The officinal names 
are partly chemical and partly empirical, being, as more fully ex- 
plained in the chapter on the Pharmacopoeia and its Nomenclature, 
framed with a view to distinctness and adaptation to the purpose, 
rather than to chemical accuracy or elegance. 

In chemical works, the classification of these is in accordance with 
their chemical relations and affinities. While in treatises on materia 
medica, they are arranged according to their therapeutical proper- 
ties. In a pharmaceutical work like the present, it will be well, 
perhaps, to present yet a different arrangement, and bring them into 
view with reference to their commercial source and mode of pre- 
paration. 

Potassa, soda, and ammonia, in their caustic condition (or com- 



POTASSA SALTS. 333 

bined with carbonic acid, which rather modifies than changes their 
medical properties), are used in medicine chiefly for neutralizing 
excess of acids existing in the secretions. In the case of ammonia, 
this use is combined with a- powerful arterial stimulant property, 
adapting it to low forms of disease. The salts formed by these 
alkalies with the acids vary in their therapeutical properties. Some 
have a special tendency to the skin, some to the kidneys, some to 
the bowels, &c. Their physical properties are no less various ; 
athough they are mostly crystalline, some assume a pulverulent or 
amorphous form. The salts of potassa are generally disposed to 
deliquesce or become damp, while those of soda effloresce, or lose 
their water of crystallization, falling into powder. Those of ammo- 
nia, by decomposition, liberate their volatile and alkaline base, the 
pungency of which becomes apparent. 

The class of salts formed by muriatic acid, with the alkalies and 
earths, have been found to be compounds of chlorine with the 
metallic radicals of these, and might be considered with the so-called 
hydriodates among the halogen compounds, but are usually classed 
with the oxysalts. 

The oxysalts of the alkalies are all soluble with the two exceptions 
of the bitartrate of potassa and the antimoniate of soda, the forma- 
tion of which constitutes tests for potassa and soda respectively. The 
great solubility of the alkalies and their compounds constitutes a 
prominent distinction between them and the earths, to be presented 
in another chapter. The alkalies, both organic and inorganic, may 
be detected by all, forming with bichloride of platinum a yellow 
crystalline double salt, which is precipitated from a concentrated 
solution by alcohol. 

Potassa Salts. 1 

Geoup 1. — Starting with wood-ashes. 

Potash. Lixivium from ashes of forest trees evaporated to a dark moist mass. 

Potassse Carbonas Impurus. Ignited potash. Peaiiash. 

Salseratus. Dry pearlash subjected to gaseous C0 2 . 2(KO),3(C0 2 ) ? 

Potassje Carbonas, 2(KO,C0 2 ),3HO. Solution of pearlash, filtered and granulated. 

Liquor Potassae Carbonatis. Jxij to f^jxij water. Simple solution. 

Potassse Bicarbonas, KO,2C0 2 ,HO. Passing C0 2 into solution of carbonate, &c. 

Potassse Carbonas Purus, 2(KO,C0 2 )3HO. Calcining bicarbonate and granulating. 

Liquor Potassse. Boiling carbonate with hydrate of lime, sp. gr. 1.056. 

Potassa, KO,HO. Evaporating liquor potassse to dryness, and fusing. 

Potassa cum Calc. Equal parts, potassa and lime, triturated together. 

Potassse Acetas, KO,Ac. Neutralizing acetic acid with carbonate, and crystallizing. 

Potassse Citras, KO,Ci. Neutralizing citric acid with carbonate, and granulating. 

Liquor Potassse Citratis. A variety of extemporaneous processes. 

Potassse Chloras, KO,Cl,0 5 . Passing excess of chlorine through solution of potassa. 

Potash and pearlash, though important in their relations to the 
arts and to domestic economy, are seldom employed in medicine, 

1 Those not officinal in Italics. 



334 



THE ALKALIES AXD THEIR SALTS. 



except in the preparation of the other forms of caustic and carbo- 
nated alkali, and the other salts of potassa enumerated in the table. 
Scdceratus is a useful and tolerably pure carbonate of potash, 
which occupies a position intermediate between the carbonate and 
bicarbonate, besides being distinguished from these by its anhy- 
drous character ; it is much used in baking to furnish the carbonic 
acid which raises the bread, rendering it light and porous. Light 
cakes made with it are generally considered less objectionable by 
dyspeptics than those made with yeast. Most of the salasratus of 
the shops is an imperfectly carbonated bicarbonate of soda. 

Potassce Carbonas, U. S. 

Made by dissolving pearlash in a small quantity of water, filter- 
ing to separate insoluble matters, and evaporating to dryness, stir- 
ring actively so as to form a granular powder, which is very deli- 
quescent, and contains water in the proportion of two equivalents 
to every three of the salt. It is sometimes called salt of tartar, a 
name which is quite inapplicable. Dose, grs. x to 3ss. 

Liquor Potassoz Carbonatis, U. S. 

Made by dissolving in a mortar, or by agitation in a bottle, one 
pound of the carbonate in twelve fluidounces of water. Its uses 
are as an antilithic and antacid; it should be given in milk, or 
other bland and viscid vehicle. Dose, "ix to 3j. 



Fiff. 185. 



Potassoz Bicarbonas, U. S. 

Made by passing carbonic acid gas (generated by the action of 
muriatic acid on chalk or marble) into a solution of carbonate of 
potassa unto saturation, then crystallizing. 

Fig. 185 shows the process of generating this gas in the bottle a, 
washing it by passing it through water in the bottle b, by means of 

the pipe d, which passes through a 
pipe e, of large bore to the bottom ; 
and, finally, through /, conducting 
it into the solution of carbonate of 
potassa in c. The point of satura- 
tion maybe judged proximately by 
the bubbles of gas leaving the pipe 
/, ceasing to diminish in size as 
they escape through c. 

Bicarbonate of potassa is in large 
transparent crystals, with a mild 
alkaline taste, soluble in about four 
parts of water. The bicarbonates do not precipitate sulphate of 
magnesia, by which they maybe known if fully bicarbonated. By 
being calcined, this salt loses 30.7 grains of water and carbonic acid, 
forming the pure carbonate of the Pharmacopoeia. 




POTASS^ CARBONAS PURUS. 



335 



Tin's salt is remarkable among the alkaline carbonates for its con- 
stancy of composition, being, in a crystalline form, invariably repre- 
sented by the formula KO,2C0 2 +HO, and is directed in the Phar- 
macopoeia as the test to ascertain the strength of acids, which it 
neutralizes in the ratio of their strength. The following table 
exhibits the proportion of bicarbonate of potassa, which neutralizes 
100 grains of each of the acids named : — 



Acetic acid, 60 
Citric acid, 150. 
Tartaric acid, 133.5. 
Nitric acid 
Sulphuric 



Diluted 7.5. 



Diluted, 20. 
Diluted, 25. 



As a medicine, bicarbonate of potassa acts as a direct and efficient 
antacid ; pleasanter and more efficient than bicarbonate of soda. It 
readily neutralizes free acid in the stomach, and the excess being 
absorbed renders the blood and urine decidedly alkaline, and is 
hence considered alterative in its action. It is used to liberate car- 
bonic acid, and for making the saline preparations of potassa, is 
confined to carbonate, being pure. Dose 9j to 3j. 

Potassce Carbonas Purus, U. S. 

The ignition of the potash forming pearlash deprives it of organic 
matter, and brings it more completely into the condition of a car- 
bonate. The solution, filtration, and granulation of this deprives 
it of some inorganic impurities, but leaves it contaminated with 
silica. Charging it with a further dose of carbonic acid precipitates 
this impurity ; and, finally, calcination at a red heat will drive off 




Fig. 187. 



Fig. 188. 





the additional dose of carbonic acid and the water of crystallization, 
and leave the pure carbonate. This is directed to be dissolved and 
granulated. The only use to which it is applied is as a test, and 
when absolute purity is required. An iron crucible is directed in 



336 THE ALKALIES AND THEIR SALTS. 

the Pharmacopoeia for this purpose, but a porcelain, Fig. 186, or a 
platinum crucible, Fig. 187, will do in small operations. 

Fig. 188 shows the mode of suspending one of these of small size 
over a gas lamp chimney by a bent wire ; a similar arrangement 
may be adopted in using the Russian or other alcohol lamps. I 
have illustrated and described this more fully, because, on'a small 
scale, it is readily practicable, and it is frequently difficult to obtain 
the chemically pure carbonate. Formerly this was directed to be 
prepared by igniting bitartrate of potassa, hence the name salt of 
tartar now frequently applied to both the carbonates. 

Liquor Potassce, U. S. 

(Reduced Quantity.) 

Take of Carbonate of potassa . . Ibj, or siij, or 3vj. 

Lime ft>ss, or 5iss, or 5iij- 

Boiling distilled water . . Cong, j, or Oij, or fSviij. 

Dissolve the carbonate in one-half the distilled water. Pour a 
little of the water on the lime, and when it is slaked add the re- 
mainder. Mix the hot liquors and boil for ten minutes, stirring 
constantly ; then set the liquor aside in a covered vessel till it be- 
comes clear ; lastly, pour off the supernatant liquor and keep it in 
well-stoppered bottles of green glass. 

This process may be conveniently conducted with an ordinary 
evaporating dish over a spirit or gas lamp, care being taken that the 
carbonate of lime does not cake in the 
bottom of the dish while the heat is 
being applied; a glass rod should be 
vised for stirring. "When the boiling 
is finished, the whole may be conve- 
niently poured into a precipitating 
glass, which should be covered by 
placing the dish over it, or into a salt 
mouth bottle into which the stopper 
should be introduced. On standing, 
the carbonate of lime will subside, and 
the liquor 'potassce may be poured off 
clear. It will act upon filtering paper, 
so that nitration is not eligible. The use of the siphon, an instru- 
ment not before mentioned, will be convenient in drawing off the 
liquid from the carbonate, if any difficulty should occur in pouring 
it off clear. 

Figs. 190 and 191 represent siphons, the latter the most conve- 
nient kind ; they are bent tubes, having one leg longer than the other. 
If the tube be filled and the short limb plunged into a vessel 
filled with some liquid which it is designed to draw off, the liquid 
will discharge itself from the end of the longer limb, and will con- 
tinue to flow as long as this end of the tube is below the level of 




LIQUOR POTASS^. 



337 



the liquid in which, the end of the short limb is immersed. This 
current is caused by the unequal weight of the columns of liquid 



Fig. 190. 



Fig. 191. 





Plain siphon. 



Siphon -with suction tube. 



in the two limbs of the siphon. The plain siphon, Fig. 190, is 
constructed by simply bending an ordinary piece of glass tube of 
the requisite size over a spirit or gas lamp. The inconvenience in 
its use arises from the difficulty of filling it with the liquid before- 
hand. It might be filled with water, but that would dilute the 
preparation. If a small quantity has been already drawn off, the 
siphon may be filled by inverting it, and pouring into its long 
end from a graduated measure, then applying the end of the finger 
to prevent its running out, and inserting the short limb in the 
liquid to be drawn off. In using the siphon, Fig. 191, the finger is 
placed at the end of the long limb, and the short limb being in- 
serted in the liquid, the air is drawn out by applying the mouth 
at the end of the thin sucking tube attached for the purpose, till 
the apparatus is filled as far as the little bulbs. The current will 
then be fairly determined toward the receiving vessel, and the last 
drop of the clear liquid may be drawn off. 

Liquor potassas is a colorless liquid, with an intensely caustic 
taste, sp. gr. 1.056. It should not effervesce, except very slightly, 
with acids. It has a very strong affinity for carbonic acid and 
moisture, which it continually abstracts from the air. It attacks 
flint-glass, hence the direction to keep it in green glass bottles. 
Its effect upon the skin is to produce an oily or soapy sensation, 
due to the destruction of the cuticle ; it also destroys or greatly in- 
jures vegetable fibre. Its use is chiefly confined to neutralizing 
free acid in the stomach and in the secretions. It is applied to the 
treatment of scrofulous and cutaneous affections, and to the arrest 
of the uric acid deposits in the urine. The dose is from ~%y to f 5ss. 
When given internally, it should be largely diluted with milk. 
Dr. E. Wilson, of this city, has used it with success in a case of 
22 



338 THE ALKALIES AND THEIE SALTS. 

extreme obesity for reducing the accumulation of fat ; by pushing 
the dose, diluted as above, to ^ixl three times a day, his patient, a 
female, lost 48 lbs. weight in a few months, so that from weighing 
198 lbs. at the commencement of the treatment, she weighed only 
150 lbs. at its close. 

Potassa, IT. S. ( Vegetable Caustic, Caustic Potassa, Hydrate of 
Potassa, fused Potash.) 

This preparation is made from the foregoing by evaporating it 
to dryness, fusing it, and running it into moulds. It is usually 
found in the shops of two qualities — one in sticks somewhat thicker 
than a quill, of a bluish gray color and peculiar earthy odor ; the 
other quite white, frequently thinner than the other, more free 
from organic impurities, though perhaps containing more lime. 
It is so deliquescent as to become moist on exposure for a few 
minutes to the air, and should be kept well and tightly closed ; 
sometimes a few coriander seeds are placed with it in the bottle ; 
they keep it dryer, and prevent its contact with the glass, upon 
which it acts. 

It is a very powerful caustic, destroying the part to which it is 
applied, and producing a deep eschar. Its chief use is in opening 
abscesses, forming issues, &c. One of its chief disadvantages for 
these applications arises from its deliquescence, which occasions 
the spread of its corrosive influence to adjacent parts. 

Potassa cum Calc, IT. S. 

Take of Potassa, 

Lime, of each, sj. 

Rub them together, and keep the mixture in a well-stopped 
bottle. This powder is designed to be applied in the form of paste, 
made with a little alcohol, but by a modi6cation of the process, a 
similar article is produced, which is run into sticks, and is found 
in the shops in that form, closely resembling common caustic in 
appearance. It is milder from the dilution with lime, and less de- 
liquescent. 

Potassoz Acetas, IT. S. (Sal Diureticus.) 

Made b} 7 neutralizing acetic acid with carbonate of potassa, and 
evaporating by a carefully regulated heat till it fuses and crystal- 
lizes. The carbonic acid escapes with effervescence, being sub- 
stituted by the acetic. This salt is usually found in the shops in 
foliated satiny masses, unctuous to the touch, and of a pungent 
saline taste; it is neutral in its reactions, and extremely soluble and 
deliquescent, so much so, as to be very difficult to manipulate with; 
its composition is KO,Ac + 2HO. Its use is almost confined to 
dropsical affections. The acid it contains being consumed in pass- 



SALTS OP SODA. 339 

ing through the system, the alkali is found as carbonate in the 
urine, which is much increased in quantity. The dose of acetate 
of potassa is from gr. x to S.ij- 

A recipe is given among the Extemporaneous Preparations for a 
ready mode of preparing it in a liquid form. 

Potasses. Citras, U. S. 

(Reduced.) 

Take of Citric acid, 3x 5x. 

Bicarbonate of potassa, 3xiv . . 3xiv. 
Water, q. s. (Oij) .... fgiv. 

Dissolve the citric acid in the water, add the bicarbonate gra- 
dually, and when effervescence has ceased, strain and evaporate to 
dryness, stirring constantly after the pellicle has begun to form till 
the salt granulates, then rub it in a mortar (wedgewood), pass it 
through a coarse sieve, put it in a bottle, which should be kept 
closely stopped. This is a granular powder, slightly acid, very 
soluble in water, deliquescent, and in its effects refrigerant and 
diaphoretic. Its dose is from 9j to 3ss. 

Among the diaphoretic solutions, under the head of Extempo- 
raneous Preparations, this salt in various liquid forms will be again 
introduced. 

Potassa} Ghloras. 

Chlorate of potassa is prepared by several modifications of the 
simple process of passing chlorine gas into a solution of potassa 
or its carbonate ; at first, chloride of potassium and hypochlorite 
of potassa are formed ; with these, a further proportion of chlorine 
produces changes resulting in the conversion of the hypochloric 
into chloric acid, which exists in combination with the potassa as 
chlorate of potassa (KO,C10 5 ) ; this is separated by crystallization 
from the more soluble chloride of potassium. It is a sparingly 
soluble salt, unless by the aid of heat, and has a cooling taste and 
diuretic refrigerant effect, being given in a variety of diseases in 
doses of gr. x to 3ss. In chemistry it is used to obtain pure oxy- 
gen, which it gives off, on the simple application of heat, leaving 
fused chloride of potassium in the flask or retort. 

Group 2. — Alkaline Salts, starting with Common Salt. 

Sodii- Chloridum, NaCl. Obtained by evaporation of certain natural spring waters. 

Sodse Sulphas, NaO,SO 3 -f-10HO. By the action of sulphuric acid on common salt. 

Sodas Carbonas, NaO,CO 2 +10HO. By calcining sulphate with carbon, &c. 

Sodse Carbonas Exsiccatus, NaO,C0 2 . By simple calcination of carbonate and pow- 
dering. 

Sodas Bicarbonas, NaO,2C0 2 -f-HO. By passing gaseous C0 2 into a box containing 
crystals of the carbonate. 

Sodse Phosphas, 2Na0,H0,P0 5 -f-24H0. By neutralizing superphosphate of lime with 
the carbonate, filtering and evaporating. 

Liquor Sodse Chlorinates. By treating carbonate, in solution, with chlorinated lime. 

Sodse Acetas, NaO, Ac,-|-6HO. An intermediate salt in the preparation of acetic acid. 

Sodse Valerianas, NaO, Va, an intermediate salt in the preparation of other valerianates. 



340 THE ALKALIES AND THEIR SALTS. 

Sodii Chloridum, IT. S. (Common Salt.) 

In crystals called rock salt, or usually in a granulated or fine dry 
powder. It is very soluble in water, and contains no water of crys- 
tallization ; its chief use, that of a condiment and antiseptic, is well 
known. It is an emetic in large doses. Externally, it is stimulant. 
Salt baths, with or without friction, are useful appliances of the phy- 
sician. 

Sodce Sulphas, IT. S. (Glauber's Salts.) 

It is produced as a residuum in making muriatic acid and chlori- 
nated lime, and is one of the most abundant and cheap articles of 
chemical manufacture. It exists in sea- water and in many spring 
waters. It is usually in very large white efflorescent crystals. 
Neutral, very soluble, with a bitter and saline taste; its composition 
is one equivalent of soda, one of sulphuric acid, and ten of water ; 
the water forming 55 per cent, of its weight. Its dose, as a cathartic, 
is Iss to 5J, or somewhat less when effloresced, though chiefly used 
as a purge for horses in much larger quantities. It is the principal 
ingredient in the so-called Cheltenham salts. 

Soda. Carbonas, IT. S. (Sal Soda. Washing Soda.) 

This is chiefly produced on a very large scale by calcining sul- 
phate of soda with small coal and chalk, which reduces it first into 
sulphuret, and then from the presence of the chalk into carbonate. 
This is separated by digestion with hot water, evaporated, further 
carbonated, redissolved, and crystallized. 

The chief use of carbonate of soda is in the arts and in domestic 
economy as a detergent, and in the preparation of various officinal 
carbonates and salts of soda. It is extremely soluble in water, and 
efflorescent, and contains 02 per cent, of water of crystallization, 
which may be dissipated by heat. 

Sodce Carbonas Exsiccatus, IT. S. (Dried or Calcined Carbonate of 
Soda.) 

Take of Carbonate of Soda, a convenient quantity. 

Expose it to heat in a clean iron (or porcelain) vessel until it is 
thoroughly dried, stirring constantly with an iron (or porcelain) 
spatula, then rub it into powder. 

This is the form in which carbonate of soda is most conveniently 
given in powder or pill. It is a milder antacid than the correspond- 
ing salt of potassa. The dose of crystallized carbonate of soda is 
gr. x to 5ss, though varying with the degree of efflorescence; that 
of the anhydrous, gr. v to xv. 



SOD^! PHOSPHAS. 341 

Sodce Bicarbonas, U. S. (Super carbonate of Soda.) 

The best process for preparing this salt is a modification of that of 
Dr. Franklin R. Smith, of Bellefonte, Pa. The crystallized carbonate 
partly effloresced, or a mixture of the crystallized and dried in pro- 
per portion, is placed in a wooden perforated box, and carbonic 
acid gas (generated by the action of dilute sulphuric acid on mar- 
ble) is passed into it. Owing to the strong affinity of the mono- 
carbonate for a further dose of carbonic acid, the bicarbonate is 
generated in this simple way. As met with in the shops, it is a dry 
white powder, slightly alkaline, permanent in the air, soluble in 
thirteen parts of cold water, decomposed by a boiling temperature. 
The commercial article I have generally found to contain some 
sesqui or mono-carbonate. The taste betrays this, as also the fact 
of its readily precipitating carbonate of magnesia from a cold solu- 
tion of Epsom salts, which well made bicarbonate will not. This 
impurity, the result of defective preparation, although not very 
important, renders this remedy less agreeable, and in view of its 
employment in effervescing powders, &c, less effective. The pro- 
portion of carbonic acid given off from bicarbonate of soda by treat- 
ing it with acids exceeds 50 per cent., so that it is one of the most 
productive articles for this purpose. It enters into Soda, Seidlitz, 
Yeast, and some other powders, in which tartaric acid is employed 
to decompose it ; the proportion being thirty-five parts of the acid 
to forty of the bicarbonate. 

Soda-salceratus is now employed in immense quantities as an 
adulteration of the proper salseratus, and as a substitute for bicar- 
bonate of soda; it is, generally, an imperfect preparation and poor 
substitute for the officinal bicarbonate of soda. 

Bicarbonate of soda is used in medicine as a mild antacid ; it is 
very cheap, though, I think, inferior to bicarbonate of potassa. 
Dose, 9j to 3j in carbonic acid water, if at hand. 

For effervescing powders, see Extemporaneous Prescriptions. 

Sodce Phosphas, U. S. 

Phosphate of soda is formed by digesting bone ash (phosphate of 
lime) in sulphuric acid, thus liberating phosphoric acid. The sul- 
phate of lime being separated by adding carbonate of soda to the 
phosphoric acid till neutralized, and crystallizing, the pure salt is 
produced in large, transparent, efflorescent, very soluble crystals, 
resembling common salt in taste. 

It is a tribasic salt, consisting of one equivalent of phosphoric 
acid, two of soda, and one of water, and twenty -four of water of 
crystallization. (2NaO,HO,P0 5 +24HO). The enormous proportion 
of water, 62.3 per cent, of its weight, is a remarkable property of 
this salt. 

It is a mild saline cathartic and diuretic. Dose, from 3ij to Ij, 
and is chiefly recommended by its taste. 



342 



THE ALKALIES AND THEIR SALTS. 



Liquor Sodce Chlorinata, TJ. S. {LaharraquJ s Disinfecting Solution) 
_ This may be conveniently prepared by the apothecary or physi- 
cian by observing carefully the directions of the Pharmacopoeia, as 



follows 



Take of Chlorinated lime . 
Carbonate of soda . 
Water . 



Cong. iss. 



(Reduced.) 

gij. 

Oj. 

Dissolve the carbonate of soda in three pints of the water by the 
aid of heat. To the remainder of the water add, by small portions 
at a time, the chlorinated lime previously well triturated, stirring 
the mixture after each addition; set the mixture by for several 
„. ,„„ hours that the dregs 

Fis " 192 - F5 «- 193 - may subside, then de- 

cant the clear liquid and 
mix it with the solution 
of carbonate of soda. 
Lastly, decant the clear 
liquor from the precipi- 
tated carbonate of lime, 
pass it through a linen 
cloth, and keep it in bot- 
tles secluded from the 
light. 

The necessity for the 
aid of heat in dissolving 
the carbonate of soda, 
may be overcome by the 
use of the mortar and 
pestle, Figs. 192, 193, as 
directed in the chapter 
on Solutions. In the 
absence of a precipitat- 
ing jar, the wide-mouth 
packing bottles, Figs. 19-1 and 195, may be substituted, being well 
adapted to allow the undissolved portion of the first liquid, and 
the precipitated carbonate of lime of the last to subside. 

Labarraque's solution is a colorless alkaline solution, having a faint 
odor of chlorine, though somewhat modified, and an alkaline taste; 
it contains an excess of carbonate of soda. It owes its therapeutic 
and antiseptic value to containing chlorine in a loose state of com- 
bination so as to be readily liberated on the addition of even a weak 
acid, and on exposure to the air, by the absorption of carbonic acid. 
It is used in malignant fevers as an antiseptic and stimulant, and 
to correct fetid eructations and evacuations ; it is a favorite addi- 
tion to gargles in ulcerated sore throat. One of its principal uses 




Wedgewood mortar and pestle. 



ALKALINE TAETEATES. 



343 



is to purify the air in sick-rooms, in which case it acts by decom- 
posing sulphuretted hydrogen, against which gas, when inhaled, it 



Fig. 194. 



Fig. 195. 





Wide-mouth packers suited to precipitation. 

is also an antidote. The dose is f 3ss, diluted with water or muci- 
lage. In gargles, f 5ss or Oj may be used in Oss. 

JSodce Acetas, U. S. 

This is officinal in the list with a view to the preparation of 
acetic acid by its decomposition, but it is rarely met with in the 
shops, and is seldom prescribed in this city. 

Sodce Valerianas. 

Valerianate of soda is made by saturating caustic soda with vale- 
rianic acid, as produced by the distillation of fusel oil from a mix- 
ture of sulphuric acid and bichromate of potassa; the fusel oil 
loses two equivalents of hydrogen and gains two of oxygen, being 
converted into valerianic acid, which combines with soda. This salt 
is white, soluble, deliquescent, with the odor of valerian. Its only 
use is to prepare the other valerianates by double decomposition. 

Group 3. — Alkaline /Salts, starting with Crude Tartar. 

Crude Argols, or Tartar. Deposited in the casks during the ripening of wines. 
Potasste Bitartras, KO,HO,2T. Purified by repeated recrystallizations, &c. 
Sodse et PotassiB Tartras, KO,NaO,2T+8HO. Boiling carb. soda with bitartrate. 
Potassse Tartras, 2KO,2T=KO,T. Boiling carbonate of potassa with bitartrate. 

Crude argols are imported from the wine-producing countries 
of two kinds, the red and the white tartar of commerce. Eecently 



344 THE ALKALIES AND THEIR SALTS. 

tartar has been produced, though not in large quantities, in the 
vicinity of Cincinnati, Ohio. It consists of potassa combined with 
an excess of tartaric acid, some tartrate of lime, coloring mat- 
ters, &c, the lees and settlings of the wine which have separated 
during the conversion of the sugar of the grape juice into alcohol, 
and collected as a mass on the bottom and sides of the casks. 

Potassce Bitartras, U. S. 

Cream of tartar is purified tartar made by treating argols with 
hot water, mixing with clay, which absorbs the coloring matters, 
purifying by crystallization, and reducing to powder. It is a white 
somewhat gritty powder, of an agreeable acid taste, sparingly 
soluble in the mouth, soluble in 18-1 parts of cold water, and in 18 
parts of boiling water, which deposits it on cooling. It consists of 
one equivalent of potassa, one of water, and two of tartaric acid; 
the water contained in it is capable of being replaced by other 
bases, as in the two salts which follow it, and in the tartrate of iron 
and potassa, and the tartrate of antimony and potassa, described in 
subsequent chapters. 

Cream of tartar in doses of 3ss to Ij, and in smaller quantities, is 
a very common and well-known hydragogue cathartic, refrigerant, 
and diuretic. It is usually given diffused in water, being sparingly 
soluble. 

Sodoz et Potassce Tartras, U. S. 

Rochelle salt is prepared by combining one equivalent of carbo- 
nate of soda with one of bitartrate of potassa. The soda of the 
carbonate uniting with the excess of tartaric acid of the bitartrate 
to form a neutral salt; carbonic acid is evolved. The crystals of 
this salt are usually large, transparent, slightly efflorescent, of a 
saline not very unpleasant taste, and very soluble in water. It is 
commonly sold in powder, and, combined with one-third its weight 
of bicarbonate of soda constitutes the so-called Seidlitz mixture. 
It is a mild and pleasant purgative. Dose, from 3y to sj. 

Potassce Tartras, U. S. 

Soluble tartar is a salt in which the excess of tartaric acid in 
bitartrate of potassa is combined with potassa ; by boiling one 
equivalent of the carbonate of that alkali with one equivalent of bi- 
tartrate, the carbonic acid escapes; the reaction closely resembles that 
last described, substituting potassa for soda. Tartrate of potassa is 
either in white crystals, or a granulated powder slightly deliques- 
cent and freely soluble ; it is less agreeable to the palate than the 
foregoing, which it resembles in medical properties and uses. The 
dose is from 5j to oj. It is rarely prescribed. 



POTASS.E NITRAS — POTASSJE SULPHAS. 345 



GROUP 4. — Alkaline Salts — Prepared from Natural Deposits. 

Potass93 Nitras, KO,N0 5 . From incrustations on the soil, in India and elsewhere. 
Sal-prunelle, KON0 5 , fused with a little sulphur, and containing a trace of sulphate. 
Potassse Sulphas, KOS0 3 . From the residuum of the process for nitric acid. 
Sodas Boras, NaO,2BO 3 -f-10HO. Found native in Thibet and purified. 

Potassce Nitras, U. S. 

Nitre, or saltpetre, is imported from trie Bast Indies, where it is 
extracted from the soils by mixing them with a little wood-ashes, 
lixiviating with water, and crystallizing. It is refined in this 
country by recrystallization, and then exists in large six-sided, 
nearly colorless prisms, freely soluble, and with a cooling rather 
sharp taste. Much of the saltpetre of commerce is adulterated with 
nitrate of soda and chloride of sodium (common salt). In the ab- 
sence of these, 100 grains of the dry salt, treated with 60 grains of 
sulphuric acid, and the whole ignited in a crucible till it ceases to 
lose weight, yield 86 grains of sulphate of potassa. The presence 
of chlorides may be shown by treating a weak solution with a few 
drops of solution of nitrate of. silver, which would throw down a 
white insoluble precipitate of chloride of silver. Among the uses 
of nitrate of potassa in pharmacy, are the preparation of nitric 
acid, of spirit of nitric ether, and of collodion. Owing to the im- 
mense consumption of it in a pure form by the manufacturers of gun- 
powder, they are resorted to for procuring the best qualities for medi- 
cinal use. Dupont, near Wilmington, Delaware, furnishes a fine 
article both in crystals and in the form of a granular powder. It 
is one of the most popular of the refrigerant, diuretic, and sedative 
medicines. Dose, gr. v to 5j. 

Sal Prunelle. 

This is fused saltpetre run into round moulds about the size of 
a filbert, of a white color, and possessing the properties of the 
nitrate. From the use of sulphur in its fusion, it often contains 
sulphate of potassa. It is used to dissolve in the mouth in affec- 
tions of the throat. 

Potassoz Sulphas, U.S. (Vitriolated Tartar?) 

Sulphate of potassa is prepared from the residuum left after 
treating nitrate of potassa with sulphuric acid, for the distillation 
of nitric acid; it is also a residuary product in the manufacture of 
sulphuric and of tartaric acid. A supersulphate is the residuum in 
the first named case, which requires treatment to reduce it to the 
proper composition; the salt is then dissolved and crystallized. 
The crystals are hard, heavy, and usually regular in their shape, 
being six-sided prisms, terminated by corresponding pyramids. It 
is used in the preparation of Dover's powder, but is rarely given 
alone or in any other combination. It is esteemed a cathartic in 
doses of 3j to 3ij- 



346 THE ALKALIES AND THEIR SALTS. 



Sodce Boras, IT. S. 

Borax is found native in Thibet, and imported in a crude con- 
dition from India, also manufactured in Tuscany. In its refined 
condition it is in large and handsome crystals, semi-transparent, 
with slight alkaline reaction, and slightly alkaline not disagreeable 
taste, soluble in water, especially when hot ; though a super-salt, 
it has an alkaline reaction. The proportion of water of crystalliza- 
tions appears to vary with the process of crystallization. It is a 
diuretic and antacid, and by some is said to promote contraction of 
the uterus, to which end it is associated with ergot. It is a very 
favorite addition to gargles and mouth- washes — being much pre- 
scribed for the sore mouth of infants, triturated with sugar, 1 part 
to 7, and touched to the tongue, or blown in through a quill. 

It is remarkable for its whitening effect upon ointments, upon 
which it seems to act by its sub-alkaline properties, partially sapo- 
nifying them without materially diminishing their bland and emol- 
lient effects. 

Group 5. — Alkaline Salts — Preparations of Ammonia. 

Ammonige Murias, NII 3 ,H 2 C1=NH 4 ,C1. A neutral, odorless, much used in the arts. 
Liquor A mmonise. Aqueous solution of caustic ammonia, sp. gr. .960. 

" Ammonite Fortior. " " " sp. gr. .882. 

Spiritus Ammonite. Alcoholic solution of " " sp gr. .831. 

" Ainnionise Aromaticus. Ale. solut. of carb. of ammonia with aromatics. 
Ammonite Carbonas. Hard, translucent, and pungent, 2NH 3 .3C0 2 -f-2HO. 
Ammonias Bicarbonas. White, pulverulent, odorless, jS t H 3 .2CQ 2 . 
Liquor Ammonise Acetatis. Neutral and mild solution of, NH 3 A.c. 

Ammonice Murias, U. S. 

Muriate of Ammonia, sal ammoniac, ox chloride of ammonium, is in 
the list of the Pharmacopeia; it is prepared on a very large scale 
in England from the residuary products of the destructive distilla- 
tion of coal, and from other empyreumatic products containing am- 
monia. It is in white, translucent, fibrous masses, which are convex 
on one surface and concave on the other ; it has a pungent saline 
taste, but no odor. It cannot be conveniently powdered by contu- 
sion or trituration, and is best reduced by dissolving, evaporating, 
and granulating. It is a very soluble salt ; it is incompatible with 
strong acids, which liberate muriatic acid, and with alkalies, which 
disengage ammonia, as in some of the processes which follow. It 
is frequently prescribed, especially by German practitioners, as a 
stimulating alterative in catarrhs, combined with other expecto- 
rants. Dose, from grs. v to xx. 

Liquor Ammonia, U. S., and Liquor Ammonioz Fortior, U. S. 

Solution of ammonia (spirits of hartshorn), and stronger solution 
of ammonia, are obtained from muriate or any other common am- 
monia salt, by the action of quicklime, which, combining with the 
acid, liberates the caustic alkali in the form of gas ; this is passed 



PREPARATIONS OF AMMONIA. 347 

by suitable contrivances into water, which absorbs it with inten- 
sity, especially if refrigerated. 

The usual commercial strength is somewhat below that of the 
officinal liquor ammonia, which has the sp. gr. 960. The strongest 
marks 882, and requires diluting with two parts of water to bring 
it to the strength of the former ; it is not, however, an economical 
mode of preparing the weaker to dilute the stronger. 

Spiritus Ammonice, U. S. 

The composition of spirit of ammonia is similar to the foregoing, 
except that alcohol is used as the solvent for the gas; it has nearly 
the strength of the officinal solution of ammonia, and has the sp. 
gr. .831. 

The three officinal solutions of gaseous ammonia are used almost 
exclusively for external applications. They are too caustic to be 
given by the stomach unless largely diluted and modified by emol- 
lient or mucilaginous excipients. The dose of the officinal liquor 
ammonise (not fortior), or of spiritus ammonia, is ^ix to xxx. 
Several liniments introduced under the appropriate head contain 
one or other of these preparations ; the only merit of spiritus 
over liquor ammonise, is, that it is miscible with certain tinctures, 
&c, which are decomposed by the aqueous ingredient in the former 
preparation. Liquor ammonise fortior is adapted to raise a blister 
suddenly. 

Spiritus Ammonice Aromaticus, IT. S. {Aromatic Spirit of Ammonia.) 

Spt. sal volat. is a very useful and popular stimulant and antacid. 
Unlike the foregoing caustic preparations, this contains carbonate 
of the alkali, and is well adapted to internal use. Some processes 
for preparing it require the solution of the solid carbonate in alco- 
hol by the aid of a mortar and pestle, with the addition of aromatic . 
essential oils, but our Pharmacopoeia directs a different and some- 
what more troublesome manipulation, as follows : — 

Take of Muriate of ammonia . . five ounces. 
Carbonate of potassa . . eight ounces. 
Cinnamon, bruised, 

Cloves, bruised, each . . two drachms. 
Lemon-peel .... four ounces. 
Alcohol, 

Water, each .... five pints. 
Mix them, and distil seven pints and a half. 
The two first ingredients decompose each other, forming chloride 
of potassium, which remains in solution in the retort or still used, 
while carbonate of ammonia in the form of vapor distils over with 
the alcohol and aromatics, and is collected in the receiver. 

This preparation is given, alone or combined with other reme- 
dies, to treat a variety of indications in disease. Dose, ^Ixx to f5j. 



348 THE ALKALIES AND THEIR SALTS. 

Ammonice Carbonas, IT. S. 

Carbonate of ammonia (sesquicarbonate) is prepared by treating 
a mixture of muriate of ammonia and chalk (soft carbonate of lime). 
By double decomposition, chloride of calcium and carbonate of 
ammonia are formed ; the latter, being volatile, sublimes, and is col- 
lected in a colorless almost transparent sublimate, with powerful 
pungent odor and acrid taste. It is usually in irregular lumps from 
the breaking of the large dome-shaped mass at first obtained ; it is 
very hard, and on that account liable to fracture a glass bottle in 
which it is placed. 

The stimulant and antacid properties of this salt are very well 
known ; it is given in various modes of combination, some of which 
will be noticed under the head of Extemporaneous Preparations. 
Its dose is gr. v. 

Carbonate of ammonia in smelling bottles is much sought for to 
relieve headaches, and for this purpose may be most conveniently 
prepared by mixing 

Muriate of ammonia, granulated ... 5 parts. 
Carbonate of potassa " ... 8 parts. 

Moistening and flavoring appropriately. 

Ammoniai Bicarbonas. 

Bicarbonate of Ammonia— By long exposure to the air, particu- 
larly in small fragments, the sesquicarbonate loses a portion of its 
pungency, falls into powder, and by absorbing carbonic acid becomes 
converted chiefly into bicarbonate. The use of this is as a milder 
and less stimulating diaphoretic and antacid. Dose, gr. x to 9j. 

In using carbonate of ammonia for its direct stimulating effect, 
care should be taken that it is free from the pulverulent, white 
bicarbonate; and where it has deteriorated by the formation of 
this on the surface of the lumps, they should be scraped away, and 
cracked, till the vitreous looking hard portion is reached. For 
saturating acids in the formation of neutral salts, the bicarbonate 
will answer a good purpose. 

Liquor Ammoniai Acetatis, U. S. (Solution of Acetate of Ammonia. 
Spirit of Mindererus.) 

This excellent preparation is made very readily and conveniently 
by the officinal recipe, as follows : — 

Take of Diluted acetic acid, . . half a pint. 

Carbonate of ammonia, in powder, a sufficient quantity. 

Add the carbonate of ammonia gradually to the acid until it is 
saturated. 

Diluted acetic acid, as elsewhere stated, is made by adding one 
fluidounce of acetic acid to seven fluidounces of water, making 
eight. It will be found convenient and desirable to consume the 
bicarbonate or the partially bicarbonated sesquicarbonate, which 



PREPARATIONS OF LIME. 349 

falls readily into powder, and is almost useless for other purposes, 
in making this preparation. By making it in a tincture-bottle in 
which toward the last the stopper is kept, the solution will be 
made to absorb a large amount of gas, and to sparkle when de- 
canted. The point of saturation may be determined proximately 
by the taste, and it is generally not desirable to continue adding 
the alkali till it is perfectly saturated, as it is far more agreeable to 
be a little too acid than too alkaline. This solution should be 
always made in small quantities, and is generally better to be pre- 
pared when required. It is very much prescribed as a mild stimu- 
lant and diaphoretic. Dose, f 3j to flss. As an antidote to alcoholic 
liquids given while the patient is intoxicated, from f 3ss to f^j. 



CHAPTER III. 

ON THE EARTHS AND THEIR PREPARATIONS. 
1st Group. — Preparations of Lime. 

Marmor (Marble). Native hard carbonate of lime. 

Creta (Chalk). Native soft carbonate of lime. 

Creta Prseparata, CaO,C0 2 . Levigated and elutriated, nodules. Dose, gr. x to gj. 

Testa (Oyster Shells). The shell of ostrea edulis. ' 

Testa Preeparata. Levigated and elutriated, small nodules. 

Calx, CaO. Lime recently prepared by calcination. 

Liquor Calcis. Lime-water, contains 9.7 grs. to Oj. Dose, f^ij to f^iv. 

Calcii Chloridum, CaCl. Dissolving carbonate in HC1, and evaporating. 

Liquor Calcii Chloridi. One part of CaCl in 2.5 of the solution. Dose, tt^xxx to fgj. 

Calcis Carbonas Prsecipitatus. From CaCl by adding NaO,C0 2 . Very white, fine 

powder. 
Calx. Chlorinata, CaO,C10+CaCl-f CaO+Cl. Bleaching salt. Disinfectant. 
Calcis Phosphas, 3Ca0,P0 5 . Calcined bones precipitated from solution in H,C1. 
Syrupus Calcis Phosphatis (Durand), CaCl. By adding NaO,P0 5 ,HO.+Excess of P0 5 . 
Syrupus Calcis Phosphatis (Wiegand). Contains 3CaO,P0 5 in solution in H,C1. 
Syrupus Ferri Phosphatis Compositus. Phosphates of iron and lime. Suspended by 

sugar. 

Lime is the oxide of a light metal called calcium, its officinal 
name is Calx, symbol CaO. It exists to a very great extent in the 
mineral kingdom, being the most familiar type of the so-called alka- 
line earths. It is obtained from the soil by plants, and becomes in- 
corporated into the structure of animals, entering specially into their 
bones, shells, and teeth. 

Marmor and Creta are the names given in the list to two native 
unorganized forms of carbonate of lime, while Testa is applied to the 
shell of the common oyster. Besides these, there is another form 
of hard carbonate of lime, called limestone, which, though not officinal, 
is employed for the preparation of lime. 

Carbonate of lime for use in medicine requires to be prepared by 
the mechanical processes adapted to furnishing a pure and fine 



850 ON THE EARTHS AND THEIR PREPARATIONS. 

article. Chalk and oyster-shell are subjected to the process of elu- 
triation ; being powdered and diffused in water to allow of the sub- 
sidence of crystalline particles, the turbid liquid is drawn off into 
other vessels, allowed to settle, and dried by being dropped from a 
suitable orifice on to a drying slab, thus presenting the carbonate in 
nodules or small pyramidal amorphous masses, readily falling into 
a very fine, impalpable, white powder. In this way prepared chalk 
and prepared oyster-shell are produced. The precipitated carbonate 
of lime is very differently prepared by means of a chemical process, 
described, along with the medical properties of the carbonate, on 
the next page. 

Calx, U.S. 

Lime, itself, is prepared from the carbonate, mostly from limestone, 
by calcining along with carbonaceous matters. Sometimes with 
Avood, furnishing wood-burnt lime ; and at other times with coal, 
furnishing a more common article. The action of an intense heat 
drives off the carbonic acid which escapes, leaving the lime in its 
caustic state. [On the addition of water, lime becomes slaked, a high 
heat is produced, and it is found to have absorbed water. 

Aqua Calcis, U.S. 

Take of Lime four ounces. 

Water . . . . .one gallon. 

Upon the lime, first slaked with a little water, pour the remainder 
of the water and stir them together, then immediately cover the 
vessel and set it aside for three hours. The solution should be kept 
standing upon the undissolved lime in stopped glass bottles, and 
poured off clear when required for use. 

Lime is soluble to a very limited extent, and more so in cold than 
in hot water. The proportion contained in lime-water is from nine 
to ten grains to the pint; its dose is from fsss to f Jij. It is par- 
ticularly useful in small doses to allay irritation of stomach and 
nausea, and as an astringent antacid is adapted to dyspepsia accom- 
panied with acidity of stomach and diarrhoea. Its taste and caustic 
properties are best disguised by admixture with milk. 

Calcii Chloridum, U. S. (Chloride of Calcium.) 

Is prepared by dissolving chalk or marble in muriatic acid and 
evaporating to dryness, after which it may be fused. It is a white 
amorphous mass or powder, with an acrid, bitter, saline taste, very 
soluble in water and alcohol, and so deliquescent as to be used for 
drying gases, and for depriving various liquid substances of water. 
It is also capable of crystallizing, when it absorbs six equivalents 
of water. 

Liquor Calcii Chloridii, U. S. 

Solution of chloride of calcium is directed in the Pharmacopoeia 



CALX CHLOKINATA. 351 

to be made by obtaining the chloride as above, and dissolving it 
in water in about such proportion that 2.5 parts of the solution shall 
be equal to one part of the salt. It is rarely prepared or prescribed, 
although considered a deobstruent and alterative remedy adapted to 
scrofulous diseases and goitre. Dose, ^ixxx to f5j. 

Calcis Carbonas Prazcipitatus, IT. S. 

Is prepared by adding to the solution of chloride of calcium as 
above, an equivalent proportion of carbonate of soda in solution. 
By double decomposition, carbonate of lime is formed and precipi- 
tated as a white powder, while chloride of sodium remains in solu- 
tion and is separated by washing. The fineness of this precipitate 
is dependent upon the degree of concentration and the temperature 
of the solutions. If dilute and cold, the result would be the forma- 
tion of a crystalline powder destitute of that softness and miscibility 
with liquids which adapts it to convenient use. The Pharmacopoeia, 
therefore, directs strong solutions and a boiling temperature at the 
time of mixing them. 

When properly made, this is a fine white powder, free from grit- 
tiness, insoluble in water, but soluble without residue in diluted 
muriatic acid, with abundant disengagement of carbonic acid. It 
is used as an antacid, with astringent properties, adapting it espe- 
cially to diarrhoea. Dose, from gr. x to 5j- 

As compared with prepared chalk, with which it is identical in 
composition, this is a far handsomer preparation, and, though less 
distinctly amorphous, is preferred for almost all prescription pur- 
poses. It is well substituted for chalk in dentifrice. 

Calx Ghlorinata, IT. S. 

Under the name of chloride of lime, or bleaching powder, this 
substance is extensively manufactured and used as a bleaching agent. 
It is made from slaked lime by subjecting it to an atmosphere of 
chlorine gas till completely saturated. It is a whitish powder, having 
the odor of chlorine, which it gives off on exposure to the air. It 
is highly deliquescent, absorbing both moisture and carbonic acid 
from the air. A very moist consistence argues the presence of a 
considerable proportion of chloride of calcium, and is an indication 
of inferiority. Its composition varies, but it is, when of good quality, 
a mixture of hypochlorite of lime, CaO,C10 ; chloride of calcium, 
CaCl ; lime, CaO,HO ; and free chlorine, 01. It is only partially 
soluble in water. 

Eor the full advantage of the liberation of chlorine the addition 
of an acid is necessary, though the spontaneous evolution of that 
gas is usually relied on for common disinfecting purposes. The 
chief popular use of chlorinated lime is as a disinfectant about cess- 
pools, sewers, and places rendered offensive and unwholesome by 
the products of decomposition. 

It is also used in the manufacture of chloroform and for the pre- 



352 ON THE EARTHS AND THEIR PREPARATIONS. 

paration of Liquor sodas chlorinata (see page 342), which is used as 
a substitute for it for internal and external use in medicine. 

Calcis Phosphas, IT. S. 

This salt, called bone phosphate of lime, is made by calcining 
bones and dissolving in muriatic acid, precipitating the phosphate 
by a solution of ammonia, washing, and drying. 

It is a white insoluble powder, free from odor and taste ; soluble 
in muriatic, acetic, and phosphoric acids. 

This phosphate is used as a remedy for scrofulous diseases, defec- 
tive nutrition, &c. Dose, from gr. x to 5ss, repeated three times a day. 

In a paper in the American Journal of Pharmacy, vol. xxv. p. 411, 
by A. B. Durand, the following recipe for a preparation extensively 
sold by him was published : — 

Syrup of Phosphate of Lime. (Durand.) 
Take of Precipitated phosphate of lime 128 grains. 
Glacial phosphoric acid . . 240 " 
Sugar, in coarse powder . . 7| oz. (offic.) 
Distilled water .... 4 fluidounces. 
Essence of lemon ... 12 drops. 

Mix the phosphate of lime with the water in a porcelain capsule, 
over a spirit or gas lamp, or in a sand bath ; add gradually the phos- 
phoric acid until the whole of the phosphate of lime is dissolved. 
To this solution add sufficient water to compensate for the evapo- 
ration, then dissolve the sugar by a very gentle heat, and, when 
perfectly cold, add the essence of lemon. The syrup of phosphate 
of lime, thus prepared, is colorless, transparent, of an acid taste, and 
contains two grains of the phosphate of lime and nearly four grains 
of phosphoric acid to each teaspoonful, and has been found to be 
more acceptable to the stomach than the solution of phosphate of 
lime usually prescribed. When diluted by the patient previously 
to its being taken, it forms a phosphoric lemonade not unpleasant 
to the taste. Dose, a teaspoonful. 

In a paper in the American Journal of Pharmacy, noticing the 
above, T. S. Wiegand remarks upon the acidity of the preparation 
as an objection to its use in some cases; and, as the use of the phos- 
phates of iron, lime, soda, and potash had proved so satisfactory in 
the hands of several eminent physicians, proposed the following 
modified formulas: — 

Syrup of Phosphate of Lime. (Wiegand.) 
R. — Calcis phosphatis prascip. . . . .5j. 
Acidi chlorohydrici .... f5iv. 

Aquae, q. s. ft f svij. 

Sacchari, q. s. ft f 3xiiss. 

Dissolve the phosphate of lime, previously mixed with an ounce 



SYEUPS OF THE PHOSPHATES. 353 

of water by means of the acid ; filter, then add the remaining water 
to this ; add the sugar until the bulk is increased to twelve fluid- 
ounces, and strain. 

Syrupus Ferri Phosphatis Compositus. (T. S. Wiegand.) 

Take of Protosulphate of iron four drachms and two scruples. 

Phosphate of soda (crys- 
tallized) .... seven drachms and a half. 

Phosphate of lime (re- 
cently precipitated) four drachms. 

Glacial phosphoric acid one ounce. 

Sugar, in coarse powder eight ounces (offic). 

Water a sufficient quantity. 

Dissolve the sulphate of iron, and five and a half drachms of the 
phosphate of soda, severally, in three fluidounces of the water, and 
mix the solutions ; wash the precipitated phosphate of iron with 
(cold) boiled water, mix it with the phosphate of lime and half a 
pint of water in a porcelain capsule, apply heat, gradually add the 
phosphoric acid, continuing the heat until a clear solution is ob- 
tained, and dissolve in it seven ounces of the sugar; then dis- 
solve the phosphate of potash, two drachms of the phosphate of 
soda, and an ounce of sugar in a fluidounce of water, acidulate the 
solution with phosphoric acid, and add it to the syrupy solution 
first obtained. A slight cloudiness is occasioned by mixing the 
solutions, which may be entirely removed, and the syrup rendered 
permanently transparent, by adding forty drops of hydrochloric 
acid. 

Each teaspoonful of this syrup contains about one and two-fifths 
grain of protophosphate of iron, two and a half grains of phosphate 
of lime, one and one-fifth grain each of the alkaline phosphates, and 
four and a half grains of free phosphoric acid, which may be con- 
sidered the dose. 

As some of the preparations in use are colored with cochineal 
and flavored with orange-peel, which render them less disagreeable, 
this syrup may be so treated by rubbing up six grains of cochineal 
with a little sugar, and adding ten drops of the oil of orange-peel, 
and adding the mixture to the syrup, and filtering. 

To the foregoing preparations, for which there is as yet a rather 
limited demand, the following, proposed by Professor Procter, may 
be added, with the remark that although the space given to the 
subject is perhaps in undue proportion to its therapeutic impor- 
tance, yet the phosphates seem to require an extended notice from 
their recent popularity and the difficulty felt by some in prescribing 
them. 

23 



354 ON THE EARTHS AND THEIR PREPARATIONS. 

Take of Protochloride of iron (in crystals) . 3j. 

Chloride of calcium (fused) . . . 3iss. 

Phosphate of soda (crystallized) . . 5vij. 

Phosphate of potassa . . . . Jj. 

Glacial phosphoric acid . . . 5iij. 
Syrup of lemons, 

Distilled water, of each . . . foiv. 

Triturate the chlorides of iron and calcium, six drachms of the 
phosphate of soda, and the phosphoric acid, together with a little 
water, until a homogeneous liquid is obtained, and then add the rest 
of the water gradually ; dissolve the phosphate of potassa and the 
remainder of the phosphate of soda in the syrup, and add it to the 
first solution, and mix. The result is a syrupy, acid, saline liquid, 
holding a portion of gelatinous phosphate of lime in suspension. 
This may be entirely dissolved by using more phosphoric acid, or 
by adding a little hydrochloric acid. 

The reactions that occur in the above formula are, first, the pro- 
duction of phosphate of lime, phosphate of iron, and chloride of 
sodium ; next, the immediate solution of the first two through the 
agency of the free phosphoric acid. When the syrup containing 
the phosphates of soda and potassa is added, a portion of the free 
acid is attracted by them, and a small part of the phosphate of lime 
is precipitated in a hydrated form. Sulphate of iron may be sub- 
stituted for the chloride in the above formula, by first triturating 
the soda, salt, and chloride of calcium alone with a little water till 
double decomposition ensues, then adding the sulphate of iron, and 
again triturating, and lastly the phosphoric acid. By observing 
this order, no sulphate of lime is formed, and the mixed hydrated 
phosphates of lime and iron at first formed are readily dissolved by 
the free acid. When sulphate of iron is used, of course both sul- 
phate of soda and chloride of sodium exist in the preparation. 

The phosphates\of iron and lime of commerce are often so granu- 
lar and dense that their solution and absorption in passing along 
the alimentary canal must be much interfered with. This difficulty 
may be avoided, when the free phosphoric acid is objectionable, by 
presenting the insoluble phosphates in a hydrated form, thus : — 

Take of Protosulphate of iron (cryst.) . . Jij. 

Chloride of calcium (fused) . . . 3iss. 

Phosphate of soda (cryst.) . . . Jvij. 
Syrup of ginger, 

Distilled water, of each . . . f si v. 

Triturate the chloride of calcium with the phosphate of soda and 
three fluidounces of the water till the decomposition is complete 
and a smooth mixture is obtained, then add the syrup, and finally 
the sulphate of iron, previously dissolved in a fluidounce of the 
water. The resulting mixture consists of the hydrated phosphates 
of iron and lime, with about two drachms of sulphate of soda and 






PREPAKATIONS OF MAGNESIA. 355 

a little common salt, the whole rendered palatable by the syrup, 
which also tends to suspend the insoluble salts, and to prevent the 
peroxidation of the iron salt. 

These formulas were offered by their author, as conveying some 
hints as to a manner of preparing the phosphates extemporaneously, 
for administration in solution or mixture very favorable to their 
therapeutic action. 

(See Phosphatic Lozenges) 

2d GrKOUP. — Of the Earths, &c. Preparations of Magnesia. 

Magnesias Sulphas, MgO,S0 3 -f-7HO, from native carbonate. Dose, gj. 

Carbonas, 4MgO,C0 2 HO, MgO,2HO, from sulphate, by Na6,C0 2 . 
MagnesisB Carbonas Ponderosurii, 4MgO,COc,HO, MgO,2HO? do. do. 

" Bicarbonas (solution). Fluid magnesia. 
Magnesia, MgO. By calcining the carbonate. Dose, gj. 
Liquor Magnesias Citratis, gj of the salt in fgxij bottle. 
Magnetise Citras, MgO, Ci, 8HO ? By fusing the citrate and adding MgO. 
Prepared Citrate of Magnesia. Effervescing powder, mixed citrate, bicarb, potassa, &c. 
Moxoris Effervescent Magnesia, contains MgO,S0 3 -}-7HO. 

The salts of magnesia, like those of lime, have for their base a 
metal. It has a brilliant gray color, and a sp. gr. of 2.2. It is 
rarely met with, except in the cabinet of the chemist. 

Magnesia, Sulphas, IT. S. 

Epsom salts is made from a magnesian limestone, called by mi- 
neralogists, dolomite. By the action of sulphuric acid, the mag- 
nesia is converted into the soluble sulphate, which, on filtration and 
evaporation, yields that salt in crystals. By stirring, as it passes 
into a solid consistence, it is obtained in acicular crystals, which 
effloresce by exposure to the air, becoming white and pulverulent. 
Its sensible properties are familiar to most. In doses of from 3ss 
to 3j, Epsom salts is a brisk saline cathartic ; in small doses, a diu- 
retic. It is much combined with senna, senna and manna, &c, in 
well-known and very disagreable infusions. 

Magnesice Carbonas, IT. S. 

The carbonate, called also magnesia alba, is usually made from 
sulphate by adding carbonate of soda, and boiling the mixed solu- 
tions. Sulphate of soda and carbonate of magnesia result from the 
play of affinities ; the former is soluble and is washed out, while 
the latter is collected, pressed into oblong squares, called bricks, 
dried at a moderate heat, and wrapped in paper for sale. It is very 
light, pulverulent, insoluble, tasteless, soft, though somewhat gra- 
nular. It is a compound of about 1 part of hydrated magnesia and 
4 of hydrated carbonate of magnesia. 



356 ON* THE EARTHS AND THEIR PREPARATIONS. 

Heavy Carbonate of Magnesia. 

This is the result of a similar process to the foregoing, except 
that the solutions are much more concentrated and the process 
somewhat varied in its details. It is heavier than the common car- 
bonate, and is found in a white rather dense powder, preferred from 
its small bulk. 

Carbonate of magnesia is used chiefly as an antacid, in doses of 
3j to 5ji though liable to the objection of liberating carbonic acid 
gas in the stomach, producing eructations and distension. 

Bicarbonate of Magnesia 

Is a crystalline salt, quite soluble in water, but which is not perma- 
nent, aud is employed only in solution. The so-called fluid-mag- 
nesias, of which Murray's, Dinneford's, and Husband's, are the best 
known, are solutions of this salt. They are conveniently prepared 
by passing a stream of carbonic acid gas into freshly precipitated 
hydrated carbonate of magnesia. The quantity contained in these 
solutions is necessarily small, and they have a tendency to deposit 
the salt as they lose the free carbonic acid ; their usefulness is 
limited to the case of children, and to the treatment of acidity of 
stomach in adults. The taste is more alkaline and disagreeable 
than that of the insoluble carbonate, or of magnesia itself. 

Magnesia, II. S. 

Usually prepared by calcining the carbonate at a high heat. This 
preparation is very various in its physical properties, owing to 
the various modifications of the process for its preparation ; it will 
not be necessary in this work to describe these. The reader is 
referred, for an account of some interesting experiments made in 
my laboratory by Thos. H. Barr, of Terre Haute, la., to the An 
can Journal of Pharmacy, vol. xx. p. 193. 

Common calcined magnesia is a very light white powder, almost 
insoluble and tasteless, but imparting a sensation of grittiness to 
the tongue, which renders it a disagreeable medicine to most per- 
sons. It should be entirely soluble in diluted muriatic acid, with- 
out effervescence. The presence of lime would be shown by a 
white precipitate with bicarbonate of potassa, as the bicarbonate of 
magnesia is soluble, while that of lime is not. 

The four best varieties in commerce are the English ponderous 
magnesia, sold in bulk, and Henry's, Husband's, and Ellis's, sold in 
bottles. 

The ponderous is not much known with us; it has the advantage 
of smallness of bulk, but lacks the extreme softness of the bottled 
article. Henry s leaves nothing to desire ; it is very heavy, soft 
and smooth, and is highly esteemed among the more wealthy 
classes; its price, which is enhanced by the payment of duty. 



LIQUOR MAGNESIA CITRAS. 857 

almost puts it out of the reach of the middle and poorer classes. 
Husband's is somewhat cheaper and equally good, though, as would 
be inferred from the ascertained composition, it requires a little 
larger dose. Ellis's is the most recent make; it maintains the same 
price in bottles as the last named, and approaches it closely in 
quality. This is also obtainable by the pound at a somewhat re- 
duced rate. 

The following abridgment of Barr's table of the composition of 
these three kinds will show the relative purity of the specimens 
examined : — 

Henry's. Husband's. Ellis's. 
Sp. gr. 3.404. Sp. gr. 3.326. Sp. gr. 3.386. 

Magnesia 94.40 84.306 94.04 

Water .50 11.400 .80 

Sulphates of magnesia and soda, iron, &c. 5.81 3. 008 4.41 

The dose of magnesia as a cathartic is about 3j, or, of the com- 
mon kind, near a tablespoonful, of the heavy kinds, about a tea- 
spoonful; as an antacid, smaller doses are used. Magnesian salts 
are tested by a solution of phosphate of soda and ammonia, which 
throws down from a neutral solution the ammonio-magnesian 
phosphate, an insoluble white salt. 

Liquor Magnesice Gitratis, U. S. 

In presenting a formula for this new and very popular cathartic 
beverage, I shall depart from the usual custom of following the 
Pharmacopoeia. It is to be regretted that, from taking the officinal 
directions, many pharmaceutists are compelled to give up the pre- 
paration of the solution, and purchase it of other apothecaries or 
druggists, so that its manufacture is thrown too much into a few 
hands. One druggist in Philadelphia has frequently sold a gross 
of bottles of the citrate per day, on an average, for thirty days in 
succession. The recipe below is that I have used for some years ; 
it is original with myself, and I believe never fails to furnish a 
satisfactory article. 

To make one doz. To make one bottle. 

Take of Citric acid ... 9 ounces (offic.) 3vj. 

Magnesia .... 2 ounces and 5 drachms 3j + gr.xlv. 

Syrup of citric acid 12 fluidounces fgj. 

Water 1 gallon, or sufficient f oxss. 

Make an acid solution of citrate of magnesia with the citric acid, 
magnesia, and 3 pints of the water (f |iv in making a single bottle); 
to this add the lemon syrup, and divide the whole among 12 f^xii 
bottles (or put into one bottle if the smaller quantity), fill these 
with the remainder of the water, adjust the corks, and add to each 
bottle about 3j of crystallized bicarbonate of potassa. 

If the magnesia is rather poorly calcined, and contains some 
carbonate, it may be best to increase the proportion from 105 to 
110, or even 120 grains, though this must be done with great cau- 



358 ON THE EAETHS AND THEIR PEEPAEATIONS. 

tion, as the slightest excess may occasion the precipitation of a 
large amount of the hydrated citrate. If the preparation is not 
decidedly acid, it will be disagreeable to take, and will possess no 
advantage over the common saline cathartics, but if too strongly 
acid, it will be almost equally objectionable. The bicarbonate of 
potassa has the great advantage of neutralizing a portion of the 
acid, while it forms a very soluble and agreeable salt. If car- 
bonate of magnesia were used, in the proportion of the Pharmaco- 
poeia formula, the tendency to deposit would be increased, which is 
the greatest practical difficulty with this solution. 

The size of the bottle is another point to be observed; it must 
not fall short of f 3xij. The so-called pint-inks are very suitable ; 
porter bottles will do to substitute for them. Bottles are made for 
the purpose both with and without the label blown in the glass, 
which are ver} r convenient. Each bottle holds about §j of the salt, 
and is a full cathartic dose; divided portions may be taken for its 
refrigerant and aperient effects, the cork being always carefully 
secured, and the bottle inverted in the intervals of taking the 



Soluble Citrate of Magnesia. 

Citrate of magnesia is insoluble in water in a hydrated condition 
as that precipitated from a solution, but is more soluble if made by 
the direct union of its constituents in a dry condition at an elevated 
temperature. The proportion employed must be varied according 
to the purity of the magnesia and the condition of the acid. Citric 
acid is what is called a tribasic acid, having three equivalents of 
water of combination (see page 298); as found in commerce, it is 
liable to contain, in addition, either one or two equivalents of water 
of crystallization, so that its saturating power is not uniform. The 
basic citrate (3MgO,Ci) is the neutral and soluble salt aimed at, and 
the proportion contained in the following recipe will furnish it in a 
tolerably eligible form with the use of the commercial acid and 
magnesia. 

Take of Citric acid (crystallized) . . 100 grains. 
Calcined magnesia ... 35 grains. 
Water 15 drops. 

Dissolve the acid in the water, and its water of crystallization by 
the aid of heat, then stir in the magnesia ; a pasty mass will result, 
which soon hardens, and may be powdered for use. The chief 
practical difficulty in the process results from the great comparative 
bulk of the magnesia, and the very small quantity of the fused mass 
with which it is to be incorporated. A portion of the magnesia is 
almost unavoidably left uncombined, and the salt is, consequently, 
not neutral. This uncombined magnesia should be dusted off the 
mass before powdering it. Care must betaken to avoid too high a 
temperature which would decompose the citric acid. 



PREPARATION OF BARYTA. 359 

The citrate thus prepared is quite soluble when at first made, 
though not rapidly so; it also becomes less readily soluble by keep- 
ing, and is liable to run into masses which are hard and unmanage- 
able. Some mix powdered citric acid with magnesia, and, perhaps, 
a little carbonate, and sell it as solid citrate; but this dissolves very 
slowly, and seems a very poor substitute for the effervescing solu- 
tion. 

The prepared citrate of magnesia, of Charles Ellis & Co., is made 
from the salt as prepared by fusion, so combined as to furnish an 
effervescing draught, which though not clear contains the undis- 
solved portion so nicely suspended as to be taken without incon- 
venience. The recipe is as follows : — 

Take of Powdered citrate of magnesia . . . siv. 

Powdered sugar Sviij. 

Powdered citric acid .... siiss. 

Powdered bicarbonate of soda . . . giij. 

Oil of limonis ...... nix. 

Combine the acid and sugar and rub into a fine powder ; dry all 
the water of crystallization from the acid over a water bath. Add 
the citrate of magnesia and oil of limonis, and mix intimately; then 
add the bicarbonate of soda and triturate the whole into a fine pow- 
der, which must be preserved in bottles properly excluded from the 
air. The dose for an adult is from one to three tablespoonfuls 
mixed in a tumbler of water and drank in a state of effervescence. 

MoxonJs Effervescent Magnesia. 

The following recipe for a good effervescing aperient is from 
Gray's Supplement ; though less agreeable than the above, it an- 
swers a good purpose, and is popular with some : — 

Take of Carbonate of magnesia . . . Ij. 

Sulphate of magnesia .... lij. 

Bicarbonate of soda .... lij. 

Tartrate of potash and soda . . Uij. 

Tartaric acid gij. 

To be perfectly freed from water of crystallization, and mixed 
and kept in a well-corked bottle. 

Dose, from a teaspoonful to a tablespoonful dissolved in water 
and drank immediately. 

3d Group. — Preparations of Baryta. 

Barytse Carbonas, BaO,C0 2 . Native, witherite. Soluble in strong acids. 
Barii Chloridium, BaCl,2HO. Poisonous ; used only in solution. 
Liquor Barii Chloridi, §j tofgiij water. Dose, five drops. 

Barytoe Carbonas, U. S. 

Carbonate of baryta, which, like the other earths, has a metallic 
base, is a rather rare mineral, being chiefly imported from Sweden, 



860 OK THE EAETHS AND THEIE PEEPAEATIONS. 

Scotland, and the North of England. It is usually in masses of a 
light grayish color and fibrous texture. It is soluble in the strong 
acids with effervescence, forming salts, which, if soluble, furnish in 
solution the best tests for sulphuric acid, throwing down a white 
precipitate insoluble in boiling nitric acid. 

Barii Chloridum, U. S. (Muriate of Baryta.) 

"When muriatic acid is added to carbonate of baryta, by simple 
elective affinity, the muriatic acid displaces the carbonic with effer- 
vescence, and with the baryta forms chloride of barium and water. 
By evaporation, the chloride may be obtained in crystals. It is a 
white, freely soluble, permanent salt, with a bitter acrid taste, and 
imparts a yellow color to flame. It is poisonous, as are all the other 
baryta salts ; it is only used in medicine in the form of 

Liquor Barii Chloric! i, U.S. 

Take of Chloride of barium . . . . oj. 

Distilled water ..... fsiij. 

Dissolve the chloride in the water, and filter if necessary. 

This solution is almost too strong for convenient use ; it is stated 
to be deobstruent and anthelmintic. The dose is about five drops, 
but it is very rarely prescribed. 

4th Geoup. — Preparations containing Alumina. 

Alumen, KO,S03+Al 2 3 ,3S0 3 -4-24HO. Manufactured from alum earths. 
Alumen Exsiccatum. Deprived of its "water of crystallization by heat. 

Aluminumis the name of the metallic radical of the earth alumina; 
is has recently attracted much attention from the announcement in 
France, of the discovery of an economical process for its extraction. 
Its extraordinary lightness, beauty of color, and indifference to 
oxidizing influences, fitting it to displace silver, and even platinum, 
for many purposes in the arts. 

Alumen, U. S. {Alum!) 

This complex salt is found in commerce in large crystalline 
masses, very cheap and abundant, being largely produced for use 
in the arts. Its manufacture, from the peculiar clay formations 
which yield it, need not be described here. 

Alum is slightly efflorescent in dry air from the loss of a portion 
of its large amount, nearly one-half its weight, of water of crystal- 
lization; it is very soluble; mixed with alkalies, it is decomposed, 
precipitating alumina, which is redissolved by an excess of the 
alkali. It is, also, incompatible with vegetable astringents. 



IODINIUM. 361 

Alumen Exsiccatum, U. S. 

Take of alum, in coarse powder, a convenient quantity. Melt it 
in a shallow iron or earthen vessel, and maintain it at a moderate 
heat until ebullition ceases and it becomes dry, then rub it into 
powder. 

Dried or burnt alum differs from the crystallized salt in contain- 
ing no water; 474.5 grains of the crystals should yield 258 grains of 
the anhydrous salt, which is consequently nearly double its strength. 
Care should be taken not to push the heat so far as to drive off a 
portion of the sulphuric acid. Dried alum is nearly insoluble in 
water. 

Alum is an astringent, and in the dried condition a mild escha- 
rotic. In large doses it is a cathartic. It is much used as a gargle 
for sore throat, as an injection for leucorrhoea, &c. Internally, it is 
used in hemorrhages, in hooping-cough, &c. Burnt alum is used 
exclusively as an external application. 

Iron alums, ammonia alums, iron and ammonia alums, &c, are 
compounds in which the alumina and potassa of this double salt 
are substituted by other bases. (See works on Chemistry) 



CHAPTER IV 



ON THE NON-METALLIC ELEMENTS AND THEIR MEDICINAL 
PREPARATIONS. 

Of the non-metallic elements, chlorine has been referred to under 
the head of medicated waters. Carbon has been considered as a 
derivative of lignin, and of the remainder it will only be necessary 
to consider iodine, bromine, sulphur and phosphorus. The dis- 
tinction as here made between the closely allied groups and non- 
metallic elements, and of metals, is one of convenience merely. 
Arsenic, which is one of the so-called intermediate elements, will 
be more conveniently considered among the metals. 

1st GrEOUP. — Preparations of Iodine. 

Iodinium, I. Solid crystalline scales, sp. gr. 4.95. 

Potassii Iodidum, KI. In cubical crystals, dose, gr. ij to gr. v. 

Tinctura Iodinii. ^ss to fj|j alcohol, externally used. 

" Iodinii Composita, I, gr. xv., KI, ^ss to f^j. n\, xv to xxx. 

Liquor Iodinii Compositus, I, gr. xxijss. KI, gr. xlv to f^j. tt\, x to xx. 



362 NON-METALLIC ELEMENTS, THEIR PREPARATIONS. 

Iodinium, U. S. (Iodine?) 

This non-metallic element is procured for rise in medicine from 
the fused and vitrified ashes of sea-weed called kelp, which is pre- 
pared in the Western Islands, North of Scotland and Ireland. The 
kelp being broken and lixiviated, yields about half its weight of 
soluble soda, potassa, and magnesia salts. The common salt and 
carbonate, and sulphate of soda, are crystallized out on evapora- 
tion. The mother liquors contain iodides of sodium, potassium, 
and magnesium, to which sulphuric acid is added, liberating car- 
bonic acid, sulphuretted hydrogen and sulphurous acid, by effer- 
vescence, and sulphur, which is deposited. The acid lye is next 
distilled from peroxide of manganese, which liberates the iodine, 
and it is condensed in cooled glass receivers. 

Iodine is in bluish black crystalline scales with a metallic lustre, 
sp. gr. 4.95. Odor like chlorine, melts when heated, then sub- 
limes in very heavy violet vapors, soluble in ether and alcohol, 
but very sparingly in water, although by the addition of iodide 
of potassium or chloride of sodium, it is rendered very soluble. 
Free iodine precipitates starch in the cold, of a dark blue color, 
which reaction is its most familiar and delicate test. It dissolves 
in alkaline solutions, forming iodides and iodates. With the 
metals and most of the non-metallic elements, it combines with 
avidity, and several of its combinations are officinal; of these, 
the iodides of mercury, of lead, zinc, iron, arsenic, and sulphur, 
are considered under the head of their metallic elements, while 
several preparations which seem to owe their value exclusively to 
iodine, are introduced here. Locally applied, iodine is an irritant 
and vesicant, staining the skin brown or orange color, causing 
itching, redness, and desquamation. Applied by inunction, it is 
absorbed ; inhaled as vapor, it exercises its alterative effect on the 
mucous membrane of the respiratory passages. Its influence is 
chiefly exerted on the glandular and absorbent systems. It is used 
both internally and topically for an immense number of diseases 
requiring alterative treatment. The salts of iodine are much used 
for their several alterative effects; when given internally, it is 
always in solution or combination. 

Potassii lodidum, IT. S. (Iodide of Potassium.) 

This salt was formerly directed to be made by combining iodine 
with iron, and decomposing the iodide of iron with carbonate of 
potassa, precipitating the carbonate of iron, filtering and crystal- 
lizing ; this process which is in some respects the most convenient 
to the pharmaceutist, has been superseded in the Pharmacopoeia by 
the plan of adding iodine directly to a solution of potash, thus 
forming the mixed iodide of potassium, and iodate of potash 
(6KO-fI 6 =5KI+KO,I0 5 ). This being heated to redness in con- 



TINCTUKE OF IODINE. 363 

tact with charcoal, the iodic acid I0 5 parts with its oxygen, and 
the iodate is reduced to iodide of potassium. 

This salt is in white, shining, semi-opaque cubes, without odor, 
an acrid saline taste, resembling common salt. Soluble in two- 
thirds weight of cold water, and freely in rectified spirit. Nitric 
acid decomposes its solution, and if starch be subsequently added, 
it yields the characteristic blue iodide of amyl. 

Tartaric and other acids do not liberate iodine, but a peculiar 
acid compound hydriodic acid (HI); hence the old name of the 
salt hydriodate of potassa. With acetate or nitrate of lead, it 
affords a yellow precipitate of iodide of lead. 

Iodide of potassium is liable to adulteration with bicarbonate, or 
carbonate of potassa; the latter renders it very damp, and they 
both occasion effervescence with acids; sometimes iodate of potassa 
is present, which may be detected by tartaric acid liberating iodine, 
perceptible by the starch test. 

This salt contains no water of crystallization. Every 4 grains 
contains about 3 grains of iodine. 

The aqueous solution is capable of taking up a large quantity of 
iodine, forming a liquid containing the ioduretted iodine, of a deep 
brown color. 

Iodide of potassium is considered to possess the same medicinal 
virtues as iodine, though preferred by some physicians to obtain 
the constitutional effects of the alterative. It is used very exten- 
sively, both alone and combined with iodine, iodides of mercury, 
&c. Dose, gr. ij to gr. v. 

Tinctura Iodinii^ IT. S. {Simple Tincture of Iodine) 

To make Oj. To make fgj. 

Take of Iodine Ij 3ss. 

Alcohol Oj f3j. 

Dissolve the iodine in the alcohol. This is best done by tritu- 
rating it with successive portions of alcohol in a glass or porcelain 
mortar. This tincture is not adapted to internal use, as on the 
addition of water the iodine is precipitated, and exercises its pecu- 
liar irritating topical effect on the coats of the stomach. It is ap- 
plied to the skin as a caustic; a camel-hair brush is convenient in 
erysipelas, and when the surface to be treated is circumscribed, 
i^, xvj contain one grain of iodine. 

Tinctura Iodinii Convposita, U.S. (Compound Tincture of Iodine.) 

To make Oj. To make fgj. 

Take of Iodine . . . Iss. gr. xv. 

Iodide of potassium Ij. 3ss. 

Alcohol. . . Oj. flj. 

Dissolve the iodine and iodide of potassium in the alcohol. 



364 NON-METALLIC ELEMENTS, THEIE PREPARATIONS. 

This is adapted to the same use as the foregoing, and by the pre- 
sence of the iodide of potassium, the precipitation of iodine on 
contact with aqueous liquids is prevented. It may also be used 
internally in doses of m\, xv to xxx. 

These tinctures are included under the general head, Tinctures, 
U. S., while the following is placed under the head Iodinium : — 

Liquor Iodinii Compositus, U.S. (LugoVs Solution.) 

To make Oj. To make f!|j. 

Take of Iodine . . 3yj. gr. xxijss. 

Iodide of potassium oiss. gr. xlv. 

Water . . Oj. fgj. 

Lugol's solution, as originally proposed, contained twenty grains 
iodine, and forty iodide of potassium, to f.5J water; the present 
officinal preparation is adjusted to the proportions convenient for 
a pint, and as is seen above is somewhat stronger. 

In iodine and compound iodine ointments, we have nearly the 
same proportions as in the foregoing, substituting lard for alcohol 
and water. (See Extemporaneous Preparations) 

2d Group. — Bromine Preparations. 

Bittern. The mother liquor after the crystallization of salt. 
Brominum. Heavy, very volatile liquid, sp. gr. 2.96. 
Potassii bromidum, BrI. White cubical crystals. Dose, gr. v to x. 

Liquor ferri bromidi. Solution of bromide with excess. " br. n\,v to x. 

Brominum, IT. S. (Bromine.) 

Bromine is a liquid, non-metallic element of a red color, stifling 
odor, and acrid taste ; very volatile and fuming, soluble in ether 
and alcohol, though not in water; it precipitates starch of an orange 
color. Associated with iodine in sea-water and numerous mineral 
springs, it is largely extracted from bittern, the liquor left after 
the crystallization of common salt whether from sea-water or from 
certain salt springs. At the salt-works, in Western Pennsylvania, 
this bittern is preserved for the extraction of the bromine, and the 
American bromine prepared there is fully equal to the imported 
article. The principal consumption of bromine is in the daguerreo- 
type process, in which large quantities are consumed annually. 
The mode of its extraction, which is rather complex, is detailed in 
the books. The vast quantities of bittern thrown away at a single 
salt manufactory, render it a cause of regret that there is not some 
use to which it can be profitably applied. Bromine is never used 
in medicine, except in combination. 

Bittern, as obtained from the salt-works, is a heavy liquid, with- 
out color, and having a caustic taste and highly stimulating proper- 
ties. Its chief medical use is to produce redness, and, by continued 






FLOWERS OF SULPHUR. 365 

rubbing of the part, a pustular eruption. It is a good application 
in rheumatism and in glandular swellings, being absorbed, and pro- 
ducing the alterative effects of the iodine and bromine salts. 

Potassii Bromidum, U. S. 

Bromide of potassium is obtained by similar processes to iodide, 
substituting an equivalent quantity of bromine for the iodine. It 
closely resembles the iodide in most of its properties, and, like it, 
is an anhydrous salt. It is believed to possess very similar medical 
properties to iodide, acting as a powerful alterative, adapted to 
scrofulous and syphilitic complaints, chronic skin diseases, &c. It 

;;r. x. 

Liquor Ferri Bromidi. 

This preparation was introduced to notice by Br. Gillespie, of 
Freeport, Armstrong Co., Pa., who, besides being a practitioner of 
medicine, is engaged in the bromine manufacture, in connection 
with the salt springs near that place. Dr. G. recommends this solu- 
tion very highly as a tonic alterative, and it has been successfully 
used by numerous other practitioners. It is made by macerating 
iron filings with bromine under water, till they have combined ; an 
excess of bromine being used. The solution, as made by Dr. Gil- 
lespie, is given in the dose of ^i v to x, three times a day, increased 
to in, xxv. 

3d Group. — Sulphur Preparations. 

Sulphur. Sublimed Sulphur, S. Yellow crystalline powder. Dose, gr. s to gij ; 
" lotum. Thoroughly washed with water, " " " 

" prtecipitatum. A light and very fine powder, " " 

Sulphuris iodidum, IS 2 . Blackish crystalline masses, used in ointment. 

Sulphur, U. S. (Floivers of Sulphur) 

Sulphur is a very abundant substance in the mineral kingdom, 
existing in direct combinations with the metals, as sulphurets ; and 
with their oxides, as sulphates. Virgin sulphur is a native, toler- 
ably pure form, abundant in Naples, Sicily, and the Roman States, 
from whence it is imported. By fusion, and running into moulds, 
roll sulphur or rolled brimstone is prepared, while flowers of sul- 
phur is the result of subliming and condensing it in suitable cham- 
bers. 

Sulphur has a characteristic yellow color, sp.gr. 1.98, is volatil- 
ized by heat, and combustible, burning with a characteristic blue 
color, yielding sulphurous acid gas, which is a powerful disinfect- 
ant and bleaching agent. 

Flowers of sulphur, or sublimed sulphur, is a crystalline powder, 
of a harsh and gritty character ; wholly insoluble in water, alcohol, 
and ether ; tasteless, and nearly odorless ; it is the form of sulphur, 
much administered as an alterative and laxative remedy in small 



366 NON-METALLIC ELEMENTS, THEIR PREPARATIONS. 

doses; being absorbed, it enters the circulation and is given off 
from the skin as sulphuretted hydrogen. Externally, it is used 
as a slight stimulant to the skin, and has the power of destroying 
the acarus scabiei, or itch insect, for which it is popularly known 
as the remedy. 

Dose, as an alterative, gr. x to 3ss ; as a laxative, 5ss to 5ij, alone 
or combined with bitartrate of potassa. 

Sulphur Prcecipitatum, XL S. (Milk of Sulphur.) 

Made by boiling sulphur and lime together till they combine, 
forming sulphuret of calcium, then adding muriatic acid, which 
abstracts the calcium, forming chloride, while the sulphur is pre- 
cipitated as a bulky, light powder. This has a soft and very fine 
consistence, and is adapted to suspending in liquids, though little 
used internally. Dose, the same as the foregoing. Very consider- 
able quantities have been consumed recently, in the preparation of 
the following excellent application to the hair, which is also a re- 
medy for skin diseases, blemishes of the complexion, &c. 



Twiggs's Hair Dye. 

Take of Precipitated sulphur, 

Acetate of lead, of each 
Eose water 



• 3j. 

. f3iv. 



Triturate together in a mortar. This is not an instantaneous dye, 
but should be applied twice a day till it gradually restores the color 
to its natural shade. 

Sulphwris Iodidum, U.S. 

Take of Iodine siv. 

Sulphur Sj. 

Kub the iodine and sulphur together in a glass, porcelain, or mar- 



Fig. 196. 



Fig. 197 



A 



u 




Fig. 198. 



7^ 



Apparatus for making iodide of sulphur. 



ble mortar till they are thoroughly mixed. Put the mixture into 
a matrass, close the orifice loosely, and apply a gentle heat so as 



PHOSPHORUS. 867 

to darken the mass without melting it. When the color has become 
uniformly dark throughout, increase the heat so as to melt the 
iodide, then incline the matrass in different directions, in order to 
return into the mass the portions of iodine which may have con- 
densed on the inner surface ; lastly, allow the vessel to cool, break 
it, and put the iodide into bottles, which are to be well stopped. 

A suitable vessel for this operation is a test tube or a common, 
very cheap bottle, such as are shown in the figure. One should be 
selected with very thin glass at the bottom. The iodide is in bluish- 
black crystalline masses, in odor reminding of iodine, staining the 
skin yellow. Two equivalents of sulphur are combined with one 
of iodine, so that it is a bisulphuret (IS 2 ). 

Internally, this is rarely or never prescribed, but it is much used 
in the form of ointment to chronic and obstinate skin diseases. 

Phosphorus. 

This element is obtainable from bones, by calcining, treating with 
oil of vitriol, and then subliming the mass with charcoal. The 
phosphorus is thus collected, and being cast into moulds, is found 
in commerce colorless, in transparent, or white pipes, having a waxy 
consistence. It is luminous in the dark, from forming phosphorous 
acid (P0 3 ), and is kept under water to prevent gradual oxidation, 
and to guard against accident from its ready inflammability. It 
should be handled with care, and not intrusted to children, who 
frequently procure it for experiment, without due precaution. Its 
sp. gr. is 1.84. Melting point, 108° E. Soluble in ether, oils, and 
naphtha, but not in water or alcohol. By combustion it yields phos- 
phoric acid, the acid which is combined with lime in bones, &c. 
Phosphorus is not often prescribed, although considered to be a 
stimulant of value in certain low forms of disease ; it is a danger- 
ous medicine, except in very small doses, from J„ to y^ grain. It 
is to be powdered by fusion in a vial or flask of moderately warm 
water, and shaking up as it cools. It is given in solution in olive 
oil, or ether, afterwards suitably suspended. Amorphous or red 
phosphorus is a form of the element differing in some of its pro- 
perties from the ordinary kind. It is much less inflammable, fusi- 
ble, and luminous, and is in reddish-brown powder. If exposed to 
the air at common temperatures, it remains unchanged, and, accord- 
ing to recent observations, may be administered in considerable 
doses without injurious effects. It is prepared in England by ex- 
posing common phosphorus to an elevation of temperature (from 
419° to 482° E. ?) under certain circumstances. 



368 



IRON AND MANGANESE. 



CHAPTER V. 

IRON AXD MANGANESE. 

Ferrum. (Iron.) 
Ferri Ramenta {Iron Filings). Ferri Filum [Iron Wire). 

This metal is too well known to require description. Its purest 
form is that of wire, or preferably card teeth. The filings ("Ramenta), 
when obtained as a residuum from the manufactories, are apt to be 
contaminated with other metals. They are also liable to rust, which 
is objectionable in some cases. 

The salts of iron used in medicine are very numerous, including 
salts of the protoxide, of the sesquioxide, and of the black or mag- 
netic oxide, and also halogen salts. 

Those only which are readily prepared by the apothecary need 
be mentioned in detail. 

In the following table, the officinal and unofficinal preparations 
are presented in the order in which they are treated of in this chap- 
ter. The unofficinal in Italics. 



Name. 


Coinp. 


Dose. 


Remarks. 


Ferri Pulvis 


Fe 


gr. j— gr. iij. 


Steel gray powder. 


Ferri Sulphas 


FeO,S0 8 +7HO 


'gr. v. 


Green crystals. 


Ferri Sulphas Exsiccat. 


FeO.S0 3 +HO 


gr. iij. 


Whitish powder. 


Ferri Subcarbonas 


Fe 2 3 ,2HO-HFeO,C0 2 


• gr. v— 9j. 


D'k brown powder. 


Ferri Phosphas 




gr. v — x. 


Bluish powder. 


Tinct. Ferri Cbloridi 


gr. xxxij (Fe 2 Cl 3 ) to fgj n\x— xxx. 


Clear yel'w liquid. 


Ferrum Ammoniatum 




gr. iv — x. 


Orange col. grains. 


Liq. Ferri Per Sulpha tis 


Fe,0 3 .3S0 3 4-Aq. 




Light li'ivn liquid. 


Ferri Oxidum Hydratum 


Fe 2 3 ,110 


fS-^ss. 


Moist b'lrn magma. 


Liq. Ferri Cilratis 




mjij-v. 


f^j contains 5J. 


Fori Citras 


Fe/) 3 ,Ci 


gr. iij— v. 


Garnet col. scales. 


Ferri et Quinix Citras 




gr. ij— v. 


" " 


Syr. Ferri Citratis 




m,xx-fxi. 


fjj contains £j. 


Syr. Ferri Protocitratis 




ntxxx— fgj. 


" " 


Ferri Lactas 


FeO,MHO 


gr. j— gr. v. 


White plates or 
powder. 


Ferri et Potassre Tartras 


Fe 2 3 .K0.2T 


gr. x— 9J. 


Garnet col. scales. 


Ferri Ferrocyanuretum 


3Cfv.4Fe 


gr. v — xv. 


Prus'n blue, cakes. 


Liq. Ferri Nitratis 


Fe,0 3 ..3X0 5 +Aq. 


tl^X — XX. 


J Astring'tinbow- 
t el complaints. 


Syr. Ferri ProlonUratis 


FeO,N0 6 +Syr. 


lTT^XV— XX. 


Ferri Iodidum 


Fel 


■grs. ij— v. 


Decomposes spon- 
taneously. 


Liq. Ferri Iodidi 


gr. «j (Fel) to 5J 


ntxx— xi. 


Light green syrup. 


Ferri Bromidum 


Fe,Br ? 


gr. ij — v. 


Brick red powder. 


Si/r. Ferri Bromidi 




li^xx — xl. 


Greenish syrup. 


Liq. Ferri Bromidi 


(Gillespie's) 


mv-x. 


See Bro-i 


Ferri Yalerianas 


Fe.O3.3vi. 


|gr.j. 


Red, amorphous. 



SULPHATE OF IRON. 369 

Fern Pulvis, IT. S. {Iron by Hydrogen. Quevenne's Iron.) 

Prepared by passing a stream of hydrogen over the calcined sub- 
carbonate (dry sesquioxide), contained in a gun-barrel heated to low 
redness, by which the oxygen of the oxide combines with hydrogen, 
forming water, and leaves the metal in a very fine condition. 

It is an impalpable powder, of a steel gray color, soluble in dilute 
hydrochloric and sulphuric acids, with rapid evolution of hydrogen. 
It oxidizes when exposed to damp air, and should be kept in bottles. 
It is usually contaminated with a little carbon, black oxide, and oc- 
casionally sulphuret of iron. The latter impurities give it a dull 
black color. When well prepared, it will burn on the application 
of a lighted taper ; and a small portion of it, struck on an anvil with 
a hammer, forms a scale having a brilliant metallic lustre. 

Metallic iron possesses in a high degree the property of restoring 
to the blood this essential ingredient, when, from disease, it is defi- 
cient. From its extreme fineness, it is readily soluble in the stomach, 
and the only objection to its use is that occasionally it produces 
eructations of hydrogen ; and, if it contains sulphuret of iron, sul- 
phuretted hydrogen is evolved. 

Iron preparations are apt to produce astringent effects, some more 
than others, the persalts, it is stated, more than the protosalts; hence 
the frequent use of mild purgatives during their administration. 
They all blacken the stools. 

Iron, in powder, is usually given in the dose of two grains. It 
is conveniently given in lozenges, made with or without chocolate, 
though it has more taste than the subcarbonate. In pills it is much 
combined with the tonic extracts. 

Fern Sulphas, U. S. (Sulphate of Iron. Green Vitriol) 

Prepared by dissolving iron wire in diluted sulphuric acid. One 
eq. of iron decomposing one of water, combines with its oxygen, 
and forms a protoxide, which last unites with one eq. of sulphuric 
acid to form sulphate of protoxide of iron. The hydrogen is libe- 
rated in a gaseous form, and may be collected for experiment. Green 
vitriol of commerce, which is used in the arts, is an impure sulphate, 
containing peroxide. It is prepared from the native sulphuret, and 
may be purified by crystallization. 

When pure, sulphate of iron is in light bluish green rhomboidal 
prisms, having an astringent, styptic taste. Composition, FeO,S0 3 
+ 7HO. It dissolves in about one and a half times its weight of 
cold water ; is insoluble in alcohol ; when exposed to air and moist- 
ure, it oxidizes, and becomes covered with a brownish yellow per- 
oxide. It also effloresces, becoming white on the surface. 

Owing to the large amount of water in its crystals, it is incon- 
venient to dispense, in combination, with vegetable substances in 
the form of powder or pill ; and hence, in the Edinburgh and Dublin 
24 



870 IRON AND MANGANESE. 

Pharmacopoeias, is directed to be exposed to a moderate beat till it 
is converted into a dry wbitisb mass, which is to be reduced to 
powder, and is called Ferri Sulphas Exsiccatum. By this it loses 
six equivalents of water, and is consequently much stronger than 
the crystallized salt. In addition to the "haematic" virtues common 
to the iron salts, this preparation is decidedly astringent. It is much 
prescribed internally in cases attended with immoderate discharges, 
and is also used externally, in injections, &c, though less frequently 
than sulphates of zinc and copper. Dose, in crystals, 5 grains; 
dried, 3 grains. 

Ferri Subcarbonas, IT. S. (Precipitated Carbonate of Iron.) 

Made by decomposing the sulphate of iron by means of an alka- 
line carbonate, as the carbonate of soda. When first formed, it is 
a bulky greenish, almost white, precipitate, which may be con- 
verted, by admixture with sugar, into Vallette's mass, which see; 
but when dried in air, it becomes much darker, and finally brown, 
from more or less conversion into the sesquioxide and loss of car- 
bonic acid. If the drying is carried on at a low temperature, this 
change is only partial, and the preparation effervesces rapidly when 
thrown into acids, and has a dark brown color. This is a much 
more soluble form, and to be preferred to the bright red colored 
powder produced by heating it. 

The subcarbonate of iron is one of the most popular of the chaly- 
beate salts. It has the properties attributed to the powder of iron, 
with a more agreeable effect from swallowing it. The carbonate is 
not astringent, and produces little or no action upon the mucous 
membranes of the alimentary canal. Dose, gr. v to Bj. 

Ferri Phosphas, U. S. (Phosphate of Iron) 

Formed by a double decomposition between solutions of sulphate 
of iron and phosphate of soda. Phosphate of iron is precipitated 
as a white powder, which, quickly absorbing oxygen, becomes 
bluish white. Its composition is variable and uncertain. Sulphate 
of soda, which remains in solution, is washed out. It has been 
given with advantage in amenorrhcea and some forms of dyspepsia, 
and is associated with the phosphates of lime, soda, and potassa in 
several new preparations elsewhere noticed. Dose, gr. v to x. 

Tinctura Ferri Chloridi, IT. S. (Tincture of Muriate of Iron) 

This is one of the preparations usually made by the apothecary. 
It is placed among the preparations of iron in the Pharmacoijceia, 
though also adapted to be inserted among the tinctures : — 

Take of Subcarbonate of iron . . three ounces. 
Muriatic acid . . . half a pint. 

Alcohol .... a pint and a half. 



TINCTURE OF MURIATE OF IRON. 



371 



Fig. 199. 



Pour the acid on the subcarbonate of iron in a glass or porcelain 
Mix them, and when effervescence has ceased apply a gentle 
heat and continue it, stirring occasionally until the powder is dis- 
solved; then filter the solution and mix it with the alcohol. It is 
an equally good plan to mix the dissolved 
chloride before filtering. The quantity 
of liquid to be filtered is thus larger, but 
the filter is less likely to break. As a 
small portion of the powder will be apt 
to remain undissolved, the wash bottle, 
Fig. 201, should be used, as shown in Fig. 
200, to spirt a strong jet of alcohol into 
the dish and thus carry all the contents 
on to the filter. 

The tincture of chloride of iron is a 
solution of the sesquichloride (Fe 2 Cl 3 ) in alcohol ; it should contain 
about thirty-two grains of that salt to flj. If a considerable pro- 
portion of subcarbonate remains undissolved, it will be too weak 
from deficiency of strength in the muriatic acid, and a little more 
acid should be added before withdrawing the heat. In prescribing 




Fig. 200. 



Fig. 201. 





this preparation, it should be remembered that the drops are very 
small, so that, although its dose is from ten to thirty minims, 
twice that number of drops may be given. It should not be pre- 
scribed with strong mucilage, which it has the property of gelatin- 
izing. It is most frequently presented alone, dropped into water. 
It is one of the most popular of the iron preparations. Besides 
the properties which are common to these, it is astringent, used in 
passive hemorrhages, and a diuretic which adapts it to a variety of 



372 IRON AND MANGANESE. 

cases. It is also oue of the best solvents and vehicles for sulphate 
of quinia. 

Ferrum Ammoniatum, U. S. {Ammoniated Iron. F lores Martiales.) 

Subcarbonate of iron is mixed with muriatic acid in a glass vessel; 
water and sesquichloride of iron are formed ; a solution of the latter 
is then evaporated along with a solution of muriate of ammonia ; a 
mixture of the two salts is the result in about the proportions of 
fifteen per cent, of the former to eighty-five of the latter. 

It is met with in the shops in the form of small orange-colored 
pulverulent grains, sometimes quite crystalline, having a feeble odor 
and a styptic saline taste. It is deliquescent and soluble in diluted 
alcohol and water. It also sublimes almost without residue. 

In consequence of the small proportion of iron present, it is a 
compound of little value. The large amount of muriate of ammonia 
contained in it renders it alterative, and in large doses aperient. 
It has been used with advantage in amenorrhcea, scrofula, &c. 
Also as a deobstruent in glandular swellings. Dose, gr. iv to x. 

Liquor Ferri Persulphatis. 

Under this head I prefer to introduce to notice the first step in 
the preparation of the officinal hydrated oxide of iron, because it is 
in the condition of a solution of the undecomposed sulphate of ses- 
quioxide, that the sesquioxide is best kept for extemporaneous 
precipitation, and because this solution is also useful for other pur- 
poses in pharmacy. The following formula for its preparation is 
compiled from that of the Pharmacopoeia : — 

Take of Sulphate of iron . one ounce. 

Sulphuric acid . fifty-three minims. 

Nitric acid . . a fiuidrachm and a half, or sufficient. 

Water . . . half a pint. 

Dissolve the sulphate of iron in the water, adding also the sul- 
phuric acid (this may be done in a flask or evaporating-dish) ; boil 
the solution ; then add the nitric acid, a few drops at a time, con- 
tinuing the boiling after each addition till it ceases to produce a 
dark color ; then filter the liquid, if necessary, or pour it off into 
an appropriate bottle for preservation and future use. 

The following process yields the same results with greater facility, 
and in a very short time: — 

Take of Sulphate of iron . . one ounce. 

Sulphuric acid . . fifty-three minims. 
Nitric acid . . .a fiuidrachm and a half. 

Triturate the sulphate of iron with the sulphuric acid into a pasty 
mass. Add the nitric acid little by little, and continue the tritura- 



CITRATE OF SESQUIOXIDE OF IRON. 373 

tion till red fumes cease to be given off. Then dissolve in water 
half a pint, and filter if necessary. 

In this process the nitric acid, by its facility of yielding oxygen 
to metallic oxides, converts the protoxide of the proto-sulphate 
into sesquioxide, but the sesquioxide requires a larger dose of acid 
to form a salt, hence the addition of sulphuric acid. The solution 
has a reddish-brown color, and rather styptic ferruginous taste ; its 
composition is shown in the syllabus. 

Ferri Oxidum Eydratum, U. S. {Hydrated Oxide of Iron) Ferri 
Sesquioxidum Hydratum. 

This is made by adding ammonia in excess to the solution of the 
persulphate as above. The alkali neutralizes the sulphuric acid and 
throws down the oxide of iron as a reddish-brown precipitate. 
This, if designed for use as an antidote for arsenic, is to be collected 
on a strainer, water being passed through it to dissolve out the sul- 
phate of ammonia, and then squeezed out, and the moist brown 
magma transferred to a wide-mouth bottle and kept under a super- 
stratum of water. It has been ascertained, however, that by long 
standing, under these circumstances, the hydrated oxide loses wholly 
or in part its power of neutralizing arsenious acid, hence the neces- 
sity of keeping the solution of persulphate and reserving the addi- 
tion of ammonia till the emergency requiring its use shall occur. 
As will appear in several of the recipes which follow, the hydrated 
sesquioxide comes in play in making some of the persalts of iron; 
it is also an eligible medicine for producing the usual tonic effects 
of the iron preparations, and may be dried at a temperature not 
exceeding 180° P., without losing its constitutional water; at a red 
heat it becomes anhydrous. 

Its dose in the form of magma is f Jj ; as an antidote f oSS every 
five or ten minutes till a large excess has been given. 

Ferri Citras, U. S. {Citrate of Sesquioxide of Iron) 

Of the several citrates of iron, the citrate of the sesquioxide is 
most commonly used. It is made by saturating a solution of citric 
acid in an equal weight of water (at 150°), with freshly precipitated 
moist hydrated sesquioxide of iron ; this is evaporated to the con- 
sistence of a syrup, spread on glass or porcelain plates, where it 
speedily dries in thin layers, which are separated and broken into 
fragments. 

It is in beautiful garnet red-colored plates, slightly soluble in 
cold water, readily in boiling, and has an acid ferruginous taste. 
Dose, grs. iij to v. 

liquor ferri citratis is the name appropriate to the solution of 
the above salt, which it is convenient to keep on hand for dispens- 
ing. This salt is more soluble when freshly prepared than when 
old, and although it is slowly and imperfectly soluble in cold water, 



374 IKON AND MANGANESE. 

under ordinary circumstances, it is readily obtained and kept in a 
very concentrated solution, which, being of known strength, may 
be readily diluted to the point desired. 

In the process of making the citrate, as above, the evaporation 
of the liquid obtained by adding the sesquioxide to solution of 
citric acid, may be dispensed with, and the liquid further diluted, 
if necessary, so that each fluidrachm shall contain a drachm of the 
citrate, and each minim a grain ; this requires that for a drachm 
of citric acid used, there should be about a fluidrachm and a half 
of the resulting solution. 

Ferri et Quinia} Citras. [Citrate of Quinine and Iron) 

This very popular salt, as met with in commerce, is of uncertain 
strength, partly in consequence of there being no authoritative 
formula for its preparation ; the usual composition, founded on the 
relative doses of its two principal ingredients, is five grains of 
citrate of iron to one of citrate of quinia. The salts are to be 
mixed while the former is in solution, and afterwards concentrated 
and dried in scales, like the simple citrate of iron, which it resem- 
bles, except in taste ; it has the bitter taste of the quinia. 

The dose of citrate of quinia and iron is grs. ij to grs. v. — 
Citrate of iron and magnesia, ammonio-citrate of iron, and other solu- 
ble citrates, have been occasionally prepared and recommended, 
but none of them are at present much in use. The ammonio-citrate 
is recommended by greater solubility in cold water than the simple 
salt. 

Syrupus Ferri Citratis. {Syrup of Citrate of Magnetic Oxide of Iron) 

Take of Citric acid 3 v. 

Sulphate of iron . . . sj. 

Water, 

Solution of ammonia, of each . sufficient. 

Sugar Sviij. 

By either of the processes given for liquor ferri persulphatis, con- 
vert ess of the sulphate of iron into sulphate of the sesquioxide ; 
mix this in solution with the remaining 3ss of the sulphate, and 
add the solution of ammonia until it ceases to throw down a pre- 
cipitate of the black or magnetic oxide. Having collected and 
washed this, add it to the citric acid, dissolved in f 3j of water, heat 
to about 150° F. and filter ; dilute the filtered liquid with water to 
make f 3v, in this dissolve the sugar, and a clear dark-colored syrup 
will be the result. 

This contains 3j of the salt to f Ij, and is a very eligible prepa- 
ration in the dose of ^ixx to f5j. It is apt to deposit the citrate if 
kept very long. 



TARTRATE OF IRON AND POTASSA. 375 

Syrupus Ferri Protocitratis. (Syrup of Proto- Citrate of Iron) 

Take of Sulphate of iron .... 3iiiss. 

Carbonate of soda . . . . 3iv. 
Sugar, 

Water, of each .... sufficient. 

Citric acid fss. 

Simple syrup fliv. 

Dissolve the sulphate of iron and carbonate of soda in equal 
portions of water, and add the one to the other in a beaker or pre- 
cipitating glass. Wash the precipitated protocarbonate of iron with 
water, in which a small portion of sugar has been dissolved, and 
add it to a concentrated solution of the citric acid ; evaporate to 
a greenish deliquescent mass, and dissolve in the syrup. This is 
a greenish brown liquid, containing nearly 5j of the salt to f 5j. 
Dose, filxxx to f 5j. It is liable to deposit the salt by long keeping. 

The syrup of citrate of iron .of Beral is a saccharine solution of 
the citrate of ammonia and sesquioxide of iron. 

Ferri Lactas. (Lactate of Iron) 

Obtained by digesting metallic iron with dilute lactic acid, or 
preferably, by decomposing the lactate of lime with sulphate of 
protoxide of iron. 

It is, when pure, in the form of very white crystalline plates, 
sparingly soluble in water, with acid reaction, and ferruginous 
taste, though, as generally met with in this country, it is a greenish 
white or gray powder ; it has the advantage of less solubility than 
some of the other salts, and hence a less powerful taste. 

This is regarded as a superior preparation, on the supposition that 
all the combinations of iron are converted into lactates upon their 
entrance into the stomach. It has been incorporated with flour 
in the preparation of bread, and is well adapted to the form of 
lozenge, of chocolate, &c. 

The lactate has been found beneficial in chlorosis, and the 
kindred forms of disease, in which iron is indicated, and is said to 
possess a marked influence upon the appetite; it is, however, 
rarely prescribed in this country. Dose, gr. j to grs. v, repeated 
at suitable intervals. 

Ferri et Potassa Tartras, TJ. S. (Tartrate of Iron and Potassa) 

This double salt is directed to be prepared by heating together, 
to 140° F., hydrated sesquioxide of iron with bitartrate of potassa. 
The excess of tartaric acid in the latter salt is saturated by the iron 
oxide forming a neutral, uncrystallizable salt. This is obtained by 
evaporation in a thick syrupy liquid, which is poured on plates of 
glass to dry. As thus prepared, it forms garnet scales, having the 



376 IRON AND MANGANESE. 

physical characters of the citrate ; soluble in seven times its weight 
of water, and becoming damp on exposure. Most of that found in 
commerce appears to be made from proto-carbonate or protoxide of 
iron ; it is in a granular condition, and has a greenish slate-color. 
Its astringency is much less than the ferruginous preparations gene- 
rally, and its stimulating influence less obvious. From its slight 
taste, and ready solubility, it is one of the best preparations for 
children. Dose, gr. x to xx. 

Ferri Ferrocyanuretum, TJ. S. {Ferrocyanuret of Iron. Prussian 
Blue) 

Obtained by a double reaction ensuing upon mixture of solu- 
tions of ferrocyanuret of potassium and sulphate of iron, the latter 
being first converted into a tersulphate by addition of NO s and S0 3 . 

It is an insipid, inodorous substance, in oblong rectangular cakes, 
of a rich deep blue color. Insoluble in water, alcohol, and mineral 
acids, excepting sulphuric. 

Tonic and sedative. Has been recommended in intermittent and 
remittent fever ; also in epilepsy and facial neuralgia. Dose, gr. 
v — xv. 

Liquor Ferri Nitratis, TJ. S. (Solution of Pernilrate of Iron) 

Take of Iron wire, cut in pieces . . <?j. 

Nitric acid .... f^iij. 

Distilled water . . . sufficient. 

Mix the acid with a pint of distilled water, add the iron and agi- 
tate occasionally until gas ceases to be disengaged, then filter the 
solution and add to it sufficient distilled water to make it measure 
thirty fiuidounces. 

This solution, which is at first of a clear, red color and powerful 
styptic taste, is apt to throw down, upon standing, a bulky precipi- 
tate of subnitrate of sesquioxide. This may be prevented by the 
addition of a little muriatic acid, or by observing the following 
directions of Prof. Procter: — 

Mix the acid with ten fiuidounces of the distilled water in a thin, 
wide-mouth bottle, which should be surrounded by water. Add 
the iron gradually, about a drachm at a time, waiting until active 
effervescence has ceased after each addition before making the next. 
"When all the iron has thus been thrown in, filter the solution 
through paper, heat it gently in a capsule or flask, and carefully 
drop in nitric acid, followed by stirring or agitation until a drop of 
the solution, tested with ammonia, yields a red precipitate without 
any tinge of black. Then add distilled water until the liquid 
measures thirty fiuidounces. The solution should have a bright, 
Madeira wine color. It is used as an astringent in diarrhoea, and 
in hemorrhages from the bowels, uterus, &c. in individuals of pale 
and feeble constitutions. Dose, n\, y to xv. 



IODIDE OF IRON. 377 

Si/rupus Ferri Protonitratis. 
It requires a particular course of manipulation to dissolve iron 
in nitric acid without, as in the above preparation, a large portion 
passing to the higher stage of oxidation. If, however, instead of 
adding the iron in divided portions to the nitric acid, we add the 
nitric acid more diluted to the iron in great excess, the acid gradu- 
ally becomes saturated, the solution has a light-greenish color when 
filtered, and is precipitated of a greenish color by ammonia. It is 
necessary for the solution to stand on the iron for several hours 
after the last addition of acid. 

Take of Iron wire (card teeth), in pieces . two ounces. 

Nitric acid (sp. gr. 1.42) . . . three fluidounces. 

Water thirteen fluidounces. 

Sugar, in powder .... two pounds. 

Put the iron in a wide-mouthed bottle kept cool by standing in 
cold water, and pour upon it three fluidounces of water. Then 
mix the acid with ten fluidounces of water, and add the mixture in 
portions of half a fluidounce to the iron, agitating frequently until 
the acid is saturated, using litmus paper. When all the acid has 
been combined, filter the solution into a bottle containing the sugar 
and marked to contain thirty fluidounces. If the whole does not 
measure that bulk, pour water on the filter until it does. When all 
the sugar is dissolved, strain, if necessary, and introduce the syrup 
into suitable vials, and seal them. 

This preparation is, I believe, used for nearly the same purposes 
as the foregoing. Dose, ^ v to xv. 

Ferri Iodidum, IT. S. {Iodide of Iron) 

Take of Iodine lij. 

Iron filings . . . . . Ij. 

Distilled water ..... Oiss. 

Mix the iodine with Oj water, in a glass or porcelain vessel, and 
gradually add the iron filings, stirring constantly. Heat the mixture 
gently, until of a light-green color. Filter, and pour upon it the 
remaining Oss of water, boiling hot. Evaporate the filtered liquor 
at a temperature not exceeding 212°, in an iron vessel, to dryness. 
Keep in a closely stopped bottle. One eq. of iron is here made to 
unite directly with one eq. of iodine, forming a protiodide, Fel. It 
is in the form of green, or grayish-black, tabular crystals, some- 
times amorphous masses, exceedingly deliquescent, and possessed 
of a styptic, chalybeate taste. It should be perfectly soluble in 
water when freshly prepared, imparting to a solution the odor 
and taste of iodine. By exposure to the atmosphere, it decomposes 
into free iodine and sesquioxide of iron. 

Iodide of iron produces the valuable effects of the ferruginous 
salts, in addition to those of iodine ; it is peculiarly applicable to the 



378 



IRON AND MANGANESE. 



treatment of scrofulous diseases in anagmic patients, and is very 
much prescribed. It should be remembered that the proportion of 
iron, in the iodide, is small, and that it is a comparatively powerful 
preparation. Dose, gr. j to ij. Owing to its liability to decompose 
and its extraordinary deliquescence, it is rarely prescribed, except 
in the form of the syrup next described, or in that of pilulae ferri 
iodidi, introduced among extemporaneous preparations. 

Liquor Ferri Iodidi, IT. S. Syrupus Ferri Iodidi. {Syrup or 
Solution of Iodide of Iron) 

This important alterative chalybeate is readily made by the 
apothecary and country physician, by the following process of the 
Pharmacopoeia : — 







Reduced quantity. 


Take of Iodine . 


sij. 


3ss. 


Iron filings 


Ij- 


3ij. 


Sugar, in powder 


. Sxij. 


5iiJ. 


Distilled water 


. sufficient. 


sufficient. 



Fig. 202. 




«,■<£• 



Mix the iodine with £§v of distilled water (fliss, reduced quan- 
tity), in a porcelain or glass vessel, and gradually add the iron 
filings, stirring constantly. Heat the mixture gently, till all the 
iodine is dissolved, or until the liquid acquires a light greenish 
color. Then having adjusted a bottle to the measure of twenty 
fluidounces, or made ready the bottle shown in 
Fig. 202 (mark flv on a vial for the reduced 
quantity); then introduce the sugar into the 
bottle, filter the solution on to it, adding fresh 
water upon the filter above, occasionally shaking 
the bottle, until the resulting syrup measures 
f cxx (fsv, for the reduced quantity). 

It is well to transfer this to small vials, f Iss and 
f 5j, as by frequent opening and restopping a large 
bottle, it will undergo a change — becoming brown. 
This may be partially obviated by leaving a few 
strips of iron in the bottom of the bottle. The 
use of heat in this preparation is unnecessary, 
the reaction, which is the same as that in the pro- 
cess for making the solid iodide, will take place 
satisfactorily in the cold. 

The use of sugar as a preservative of this deli- 
cate salt, is an important improvement, introduced 
about the year 1840, and has brought the iodide 
of iron into the reach of the practitioner in a 
very permanent and eligible form. This solution 
contains about 7 1 grains of salt to f5j. Dose, "l xx to xl. It is 
incompatible with most chemical agents, but may be mixed with 
the syrups and fluid extracts of the vegetable alteratives, or, what is 



^ 



<£# 



Graduated receiving 
bottle. 



MANGANESE. 379 

perhaps better, prescribed in a separate vial, to be dropped into 
the syrup at the time of taking it. 

A preparation is sometimes prescribed in this city under the 
name of Dr. Hays's Syrup of Iodide of Iron ; the formula is pub- 
lished in the Amer. Journ. of Med. Sciences, for 1840, p. 449. It is 
made from 400 grains of iodine, and 160 of iron, and 2 ounces of 
sugar to f^iv. Dose, ^iv. 

Bromide of Iron. 

This salt is obtained by adding bromine to iron filings in excess 
under water, and submitting them to a moderate heat. When the 
liquid assumes a greenish-yellow appearance, it is filtered and evapo- 
rated rapidly to dryness in an iron vessel. Bromide of iron is a 
brick red, very deliquescent salt, of an acrid styptic taste, and requires 
to be kept closely stopped in glass vials. This bromide has been 
used quite extensively in Pittsburg, Pa., as a tonic and alterative, 
and is considered by some physicians a highly efficacious prepara- 
tion. This salt may be known by the liberation of bromine on the 
addition of sulphuric acid. An eligible form for its administration 
is the following ; — 



Syrup of Bromide of Iron. 




Take of Bromine 

Iron filings . 

Water 

Sugar 


200 grains. 
85 grains, 
f^ivss. 
3iij. 



Make a solution in the manner directed for preparing the officinal 
solution of iodide of iron. Dose, "l xx, three times a day, gradually 
increased. (See Medical Examiner, vol. vii. p. 162.) 

For the preparation of a solution of bromide of iron with excess 
of bromine, see Bromine. 

Valerianate of Iron. 

This preparation is made by the decomposition of valerianate of 
soda by tersulphate of sesquioxide of iron; it is a dark red amor- 
phous powder, having a faint odor and taste of valerianic acid. Its 
composition is thus shown, Fe 2 3 ,3Va. It is insoluble in cold water, 
decomposed by hot water, and is soluble in alcohol. In hysterical 
affections complicated with chlorosis, it is prescribed in doses of 
about a grain repeated several times a day. 

Manganese. 

This is a metal resembling iron in its therapeutical as well as in 
some of its chemical properties. It forms several oxides, of which 
the protoxide, MnO, is present in its most important oxysalts. These 
have a rose color, and on addition of carbonated alkali precipitate 



380 IRON AND MANGANESE. 

the white carbonate of protoxide, which, however, has a tendency to 
pass into the brown sesquioxide. The salts of manganese are not 
incompatible with vegetable astringents, which is their chief pharma- 
ceutical merit. None of them are officinal. 

Preparations of Manganese. 

Manganesii Oxidum Nigrum, Mn0 2 . Native impure mineral. 

Manganesise. Sulphas,MnO,S0 3 ,7 '(?)HO. Pale rose-colored crystals, soluble. 

Manganesise Carbonas, 2MnO,C0 2 -|-HO. Whitish insoluble powder. 

Manganesise Phosphas, MnO,P0 5 4-(?)- Whitish insoluble powder. 

Syrupus Manganesise Phosphatis. Contains five grains, MnO,P0 5 , to each f^j. 

Syrupus Manganesii Iodidi. Contains sjj Mnl, to each f l|j. 

Syrupus Ferri et Manganesii Iodidi. Same strength as Liq. Fer. Iod., U. S. 

The native impure form of manganese in commerce, that of black 
oxide, is used to prepare all the rest ; it is imported in lumps and 
in powder, and should have a dark, shining, crystalline appearance. 

Sulphate of Manganese. 

This salt maybe prepared by a process published in the American 
Journal of Pharmacy, vol. xxiv. p. 10, by the late W. W. D. Liver- 
more as follows: — 

Mix in a sand crucible the black oxide of manganese with sul- 
phuric acid until of a thick pasty consistence. Cover with a smaller 
crucible and expose the mixture to a red heat for half an hour. At 
the end of this interval, remove the crucible from the fire, and when 
cool reduce the dark brown mass to a coarse powder. Introduce 
this into a crucible, and saturate as before with sulphuric acid. 
Again apply heat and continue it till white vapors cease to be ex- 
pelled. The mass remaining contains the sulphate, which may be 
obtained impure by solution and evaporation. To purify this from 
iron, the following directions are given : The filtered solution is to 
be heated in a porcelain capsule, and when nearly boiling, drop into 
it carbonate of manganese in small portions at a time until all the 
iron shall have been precipitated and the liquid changes from a dark 
red to a pale rose tint. Now evaporate and crystallize. These 
crystals are of a pale rose color, styptic taste, freely soluble in water, 
and may be given as a tonic in a dose of gr. v; as a cholagogue 
cathartic, 3j to 5ij is required. 

Some processes recommend the heating of black oxide with car- 
bon previous to adding the sulphuric acid, others direct the addition 
of the moist carbonate to diluted sulphuric acid. 

Carbonate of Manganese. 

This is made by precipitating sulphate with a carbonated alkali, 
or directly from the native black oxide, as follows: — 

Take of black oxide of manganese ft>j, in powder, put it in a por- 
celain dish on a sand bath or other source of heat ; pour on it 



SYKUP OF IODIDE OF MANGANESE. 381 

muriatic acid Oij, and stir well. Chlorine is evolved, which makes 
it necessary to operate in the open air or under a chimney. Muriatic 
acid should be added until it is nearly dissolved. To get rid of free 
muriatic acid and sesquichloride of iron, add carbonate of soda, 
boiling, after each addition, as long as the carbonate precipitated is 
contaminated with iron, or until a portion of the solution tested with 
yellow prussiate of potassa does not produce a blue color. The 
solution of chloride of manganese, being now separated from the 
oxide of iron by filtration, will furnish, on the addition of an excess 
of carbonate of soda, a bulky white precipitate, which, being washed 
in cold boiled water and dried, constitutes carbonate of manganese. 
It is a white or pale rose-colored powder, insoluble in water, and 
liable to pass into a higher state of oxidation ; it may be given in 
powder, dose, gr. v, or in the form of saccharine powder, or made 
into a mass with honey. 

Phosphate of Manganese. 

This salt is prepared by mixing solutions of sulphate of manga- 
nese four parts, and phosphate of soda five parts, washing the 
precipitated phosphate till the sulphate of soda is completely re- 
moved, and drying at a moderate heat. It is a white, nearly inso- 
luble powder, and may be made into pills, lozenges, or syrup. 

A phosphatic salt of manganese is deemed peculiarly eligible 
therapeutically, as the phosphates generally have been found ad- 
vantageous in anasmic conditions of the system. The following 
formula, combining these prerequisites, is of such a strength that 
each fiuidrachm contains five grains of phosphate of manganese. 
It is by Thomas S. Wiegand. 

Syrup of Phosphate of Manganese. 

R. — Sulphate of manganese (in crystals) . Ijss, gr. xvij. 

Phosphate of soda .... §iiss or q. s. 

Muriatic acid f5iv. 

Water, q. s., to make .... fifvii. 

Sugar, q. s., to make, with the foregoing fjxiiss. 

Dissolve the salts separately, each in half a pint of water, and 
add the solution of phosphate of soda to the solution of sulphate of 
manganese, as long as it produces a precipitate, which wash with 
cold water, and dissolve by means of the muriatic acid ; dilute 
till it measures seven fiuidounces, then add sugar sufficient to make 
up the bulk of twelve and a half ounces. 

Syrup of Iodide of Manganese. 

Take of Sulphate of manganese . . lij. 

Iodide of potassium . . . lij, Jiij. 

Sugar gxij. 

Water, 

Syrup, of each .... sufficient. 



382 IRON AND MANGANESE. 

Dissolve the sulphate and iodide each in faiij of cold water, to 
which f^ij of syrup have been added, mix them in a glass stoppered 
bottle, and after the crystals of sulphate of potassa cease to preci- 
pitate, throw the solution on a filter of fine muslin, and allow it to 
pass into a pint bottle containing the sugar, add sufficient water to 
the filter to bring up the measure of the resulting syrup to exactly 
a pint. This contains about 3j of the iodide to each fsj. Dose, "I x. 

Syrup of Iodide of Iron and Manganese. (Procter.) 

This preparation nearly represents the officinal solution of iodide 
of iron, and is used for the same purposes, and in the same doses. 

Take of Iodide of potassium . . . 1000 grains. 
Protosulphate of iron . . 630 " 

Protosulphate of manganese . 210 " 

Iron filings (free from rust) . 100 " 

White sugar (in coarse powder) 4800 " 

Distilled and boiled water . q. s. 

Triturate the sulphates and the iodide separately to powder, mix 
them with the iron filings, add half a fluidounce of distilled water, 
and triturate to a uniform paste. After standing a few minutes, 
again add half a fluidounce of distilled water, triturate and allow it 
to rest fifteen minutes. A third addition of water should now be 
made and mixed. The sugar should then be introduced into a 
bottle capable of holding a little more than twelve fluidounces, and 
a small funnel, prepared with a moistened filter, inserted into its 
mouth. The magma of salts should then be carefully removed 
from the mortar to the filter, and when the dense solution has 
drained through, distilled or boiled water should be carefully 
poured on in small portions, until the solution of the iodides is 
displaced and washed from the magma of crystals of sulphate of 
potash. Finally, finish the measure of twelve ounces, by adding 
boiled water, and agitate the bottle until the sugar is dissolved. 
The solution of the sugar may be facilitated when desirable, by 
standing the bottle in warm water for a time, and then agitating. 

Each fluidounce of this syrup contains fifty grains of the mixed 
anhydrous iodides in the proportion of three parts of iodide of 
iron to one part of iodide of manganese, and the dose is from ten 
drops to half a fluidrachm. 

For paper on the preparations of manganese and iron, including 
effervescing powders, lozenges, pills, chocolate, and syrup, see Am. 
Journ. Phar?n., vol. xxv. p. 174, also vol. xxii. p. 297. 



PREPARATIONS OF COPPER AND ZINC. 383 



CHAPTER VI. 

PREPARATIONS OP COPPER AND ZINC. 

Cuprum. (Copper.) 

The properties of metallic copper are generally familiar; it 
furnishes, by oxidation and combination with acids, some important 
medicines, which are also, in excessive doses, corrosive poisons . 
The best antidote is white of egg, or milk and other bland liquids ; 
magnesia will aid in the case of sulphate, by decomposing that 
salt. Copper is apt to contaminate stewed fruit, from the use of 
copper vessels in their preparation ; it may be detected by immers- 
ing a clean spatula in the suspected liquid, which deposits a film 
of metallic copper, or by ammonia, which strikes a rich blue color 
with copper salts. 

Copper Preparations. 

Cupri Sulphas, CuO,S0 3 -f-5HO. Blue vitriol, blue efflorescent crystals. 
Cuprum Ammoniatium, Cu0,S0 3 ,H0-(-2NH 3 . Blue amorphous moist powder. 
Cupri Subacetas, 2CuOAc+6HO. (?) Verdigris, amorphous green masses. 

Cupri Sulphas, U. S. (Blue Vitriol. Blue Stone.) 

Four methods are in use for obtaining this salt. 1st. By evapo- 
rating the waters which flow through copper mines, and which hold 
it in solution. 2d. Eoasting copper pyrites, lixiviating the residuum 
to dissolve the sulphate, and evaporating so as to obtain crystals. 
Both the S and the Cu of the pyrites abstract O from the air, and 
become, the one S0 3 , and the other Cu 3 ; and these uniting form 
sulphate of copper. 3d. Another mode is to sprinkle plates of 
copper with sulphur, which are next heated to redness and plunged 
into water ; the sheets are entirely corroded ; a sulphuret is formed, 
which, by the action of heat and air, gradually passes into a 
sulphate; this is dissolved in water, and crystals obtained by 
evaporation. 4th. By dissolving the scales, obtained in the process 
of annealing sheet copper, in diluted sulphuric acid, evaporating 
and crystallizing. The salt is in large, rhombic, blue crystals, with 
a styptic metallic taste ; it contains five equivalents of water, and 
is represented by CuO,S0 3 5HO. It effloresces slightly in dry air ; 
soluble in water, precipitated by ammonia, but redissolved in an 
excess, forming a rich blue solution. The impurities contained in 
it, when in crystals, seldom affect its value as a medicine. 



38i PREPARATIONS OF COPPER AND ZINC. 

Sulphate of copper is much used as a tonic and astringent, in 
from gr. J to gr. J, and as a prompt and powerful emetic in five 
grain doses; as an injection in gonorrhoea, &c, it is dissolved in 
water in the proportion of 2 to 8 grains to fsj- A crystal polished 
by trituration on a damp cloth, is applied as an astringent to in- 
flamed eyelids, &c. 

Cuprum Ammoniatum, U.S. (Ammoniated Copper. Ammonio- Sul- 
phate of Copper}) 

Sulphate of copper, §ss, and carbonate of ammonia, 3vj, are 
rubbed together in a glass mortar until effervescence ceases; the 
ammoniated copper is wrapped in bibulous paper, and dried with 
a gentle heat. When thus rubbed together, these salts give out 
part of their water of crystallization, by which the mixture becomes 
moist, and, at the same time, a portion of the carbonic acid of the 
sesquicarbonate escapes, producing effervescence, and the com- 
pound assumes a deep azure blue color. 

The composition is nearly represented thus : CuO,S0 3 + HO,+ 
NH 3 . Ammoniated copper is regarded as a tonic and antispas- 
modic. It is occasionally prescribed in combination with assafcetida 
in pill ; dose, gr. J repeated. 

Cupri Subacetas, U. S.' (sErugo. Impure Subacetate of Copper. 
Verdigris) 

Made by exposing copper plates to the action of the fermenting 
refuse of the wine-press, or to pyroligneous acid, when this salt 
forms on the surface. 

It is obtained in powder, or amorphous masses, or consisting of 
very minute crystals, of a bluish green color, with a peculiar 
metallic odor, and styptic metallic taste ; resolved by water into a 
soluble neutral acetate, and insoluble tris-acetate; when treated 
with sulphuric acid, gives off acetic acid fumes; from the solution, 
ammonia precipitates the oxide, but redissolves it when in excess. 

Composition: 2CuO,Ac+6(?)IIO. It is sometimes met within 
a distinctly crystalline form, which is, I believe, the neutral acetate 
as deposited from an acetic acid solution. It is used exclusively 
externally as an escharotic, and there is an officinal ointment made 
from it. 

Zincum. U.S. (Zinc.) 

This metal occurs in nature in two principal forms : as a sul- 
phuret, blende, and as a carbonate or silicate, calamine, from which 
the metal is extracted, by distilling them with carbonaceous 
matters. 



CALAMINE AND FATTY ZINC. 385 

It is a bluish, white crystalline metal, soluble in dilute hydro- 
chloric and sulphuric acids, with evolution of hydrogen, also in 
nitric acid; melted and dropped into water, it constitutes granu- 
lated zinc. It is used in pharmacy for the preparation of the sul- 
phate, acetate, and chloride, which are officinal. 



Preparations op Zinc. 1 

Calamina. Native, impure carbonate of zinc. A gray coarse powder. 

" Praeparata. Calcined, powdered, and levigated. 

Tutia. A product of smelting lead ores containing zinc. Slate colored. 
Zinci Sulphas, ZnOS0 3 -f-7HO. Small, white, efflorescent crystals. Emetic gr. x. 

" Carbonas Proscipitatus, 8ZnO,3C0 2 -)-6HO. (?) A pure white, very light powder. 

" Oxidum, ZnO. A pure, white powder, not effervescing with acids. 

" Acetas, ZnO, Ac. Micaceous, freely soluble crystals. 

" Chloridum, ZnCl. White, translucent plates or masses. Very deliquescent. 
Zinci Cyanuretum, ZnCy. White powder, insoluble, poisonous. Gr. \ to j. 

" Valerianas, ZnO, Va. White, pearly scales, soluble in alcohol. Dose, gr. j to ij. 



Calamina, U.S. {Calamine. Native Impure Carbonate of Zinc') 

This mineral is found abundantly in Germany, England, and the 
United States. It is, however, as recently procured, very impure, 
and seldom contains a considerable proportion of carbonate of zinc. 
For use, it must be brought to the condition of an impalpable 
powder, when it constitutes : — 



Calamina Prazparata, U. S. {Prepared Calamine) 

Obtained by heating the impure carbonate to redness and pul- 
verizing the product, which is then levigated and elutriated. 

It is in the form of a pinkish or gray powder, of an earthy ap- 
pearance. It should be almost entirely soluble in sulphuric acid, 
and the precipitate thrown down by ammonia and potash should 
be redissolved by these reagents. The calcination of calamine 
drives off a quantity of C0 2 and water, so that little remains except 
oxide of zinc and earthy impurities. The precipitate, carbonate 
or oxide of zinc, may be substituted with advantage. 

It is only used externally as a dusting powder and exsiccant, or 
in the form of cerate as a mild astringent. 



Tutia. {Impure Oxide of Zinc. Tutty.) 

This oxide is formed during the smelting of lead ores containing 
zinc ; it is, as I have seen it, usually in little nodules, like those of 

1 The unofficial preparations, as in the other tables, in Italic. 

25 



386 PREPARATIONS OF COPPER AND ZINC. 

prepared chalk, of a bluish or slate-color. It is said to be much 
adulterated, and is very properly substituted by the officinal oxide 
of zinc. 

Zi ) ici Sulphas, U.S. {Sulphate of Zinc. White Vitriol) 

Prepared by dissolving zinc in dilute sulphuric acid, evaporating 
and crystallizing. 

"Water is decomposed in the presence of the acid and metal, hy- 
drogen is liberated, the zinc oxidized, and the oxide formed com- 
bines with the sulphuric acid. 

Usually in small four-sided, colorless prisms, of the same form as 
sulphate of magnesia, possessing a disagreeable, metallic, styptic taste, 
very soluble in water, insoluble in alcohol, slightly efflorescent, 
precipitated, and again redissolved by ammonia. When heated, it 
dissolves in its water of crystallization, and by prolonged ignition, 
the acid is all expelled, and oxide of zinc is left. Its composition 
is thus represented, ZnO, S0 3 -f 7HO. 

In small doses it acts as an astringent and tonic ; in large doses 
as a quick, direct emetic ; externally, as a powerful astringent. It 
is used as a tonic, chiefly in diseases affecting the nervous system, 
and when gradually increased, tolerance soon becomes established ; 
sometimes it is given as an astringent in chronic passive discharges. 
As an emetic, it is used when the rapid emptying of the stomach 
is desired without the production of much depression, as in nar- 
cotic poisoning. Externally, in solutions of different strengths, it 
is employed as a lotion or injection, in ophthalmia, gleet, &c. 

Dose, gr. J to ij in pill. As an emetic, gr. x. The strength of a 
solution for external employment, may be from gr. j to vj to fsj 
water. 



Zinci Carbonas Prcecijiitatus, U. S. {Precipitated Carbonate of Zinc.) 

Solutions of carbonate of soda and sulphate of zinc in equal parts 
are mixed together ; a double decomposition takes place ; sulphate 
of soda is formed in solution, and carbonate of zinc is precipitated. 
A white fiocculent powder resembling magnesia subsides, which is 
frequently washed till the washings are tasteless; the powder is 
dried by a gentle heat. 

Uses same as those of calamine. In the form of the officinal 
cerate, it is much used as a dressing for burns. 



Zinci Oxidum, U.S. {Oxide of Zinc. Flowers of Zinc) 

This is made by exposing the precipitated carbonate to a strong 
heat, by which C0 2 is driven off, and the residue is the oxide of zinc. 



CHLORIDE OF ZINC. 387 

It is a white or yellowish-white powder, without odor or taste ; 
insoluble in water, but soluble in hydrochloric and other acids 
without effervescence, and in ammonia and potash ; composition 
ZnO. When a salt of zinc is treated with sulphuretted hydrogen 
(HS), a white precipitate is the result, which distinguishes zinc from 
any other metal, and furnishes a means of detecting lead or other 
impurities. 

Oxide of zinc is a tonic, especially to the nervous system; also 
somewhat astringent; used in chorea, epilepsy, and neuralgia. 
Locally, it is slightly astringent and desiccant, and constitutes an 
excellent application to excoriated surfaces, and to chapped or 
cracked nipples. An ointment of oxide of zinc is officinal. 



Zinci Acetas, U. S. (Acetate of Zinc.) 

It may be procured in either of the following ways : 1. By dis- 
solving oxide of zinc in acetic acid, and crystallizing the saturated 
solution. 2. By double decomposition between a solution of sul- 
phate of zinc and a solution of acetate of lead. 3d. The officinal 
process, granulated zinc six, is added to a solution of Ibj of acetate 
of lead in water Oiij, and agitated occasionally till no precipitate is 
formed on the addition of iodide of potassium. The familiar expe- 
riment of forming the zinc or lead tree leaves this salt in solution. 
In concentrating the solution to one-fifth its bulk, previously to 
crystallizing, a little of the acetic acid is apt to be dissipated, and 
should be replaced by dropping in a small excess of the acid. 

When carefully crystallized, it is in the form of very handsome 
pearly or silky hexagonal crystals, which effloresce in a dry air. 
As found in the shops, it is sometimes in white micaceous scales ; 
very soluble in water, moderately soluble in alcohol, and has an 
astringent metallic taste. 

When heated, it fuses and gives out an inflammable vapor having 
the odor of acetic acid ; the mineral acids decompose it. 

It is used as a topical remedy, in the form of collyrium, in 
ophthalmia, and as an injection in gonorrhoea, gleet, leucorrhoea, &c. 



Zinci Chloridum, U.S. (Chloride of Zinc. Butter of Zinc.) 

Take of Zinc, in small pieces, . §iiss. 
Nitric acid (sp. gr. 1.42), 

Prepared chalk, each . 5j- 

Muriatic acid . . .a sufficient quantity. 

To the zinc, in a glass or porcelain vessel, add gradually sufficient 
muriatic acid to dissolve it; then strain, add the nitric acid, and 
evaporate to dryness. Dissolve the dry mass in water ; add the 



388 PREPARATIONS OF COPPER AND ZINC. 

chalk, and, having allowed the mixture to stand for twenty-four 
hours, filter and again evaporate to dryness. 

This beautiful preparation is well prepared by the above process 
of the Pharmacopoeia. The chloride of zinc being first formed by 
the action of the muriatic acid on the metal, the next step is to sepa- 
rate the iron derived from the muriatic acid, and from the zinc; this 
is done by the use of nitric acid, which peroxidizes the iron, and, on 
evaporation to dryness, dissolving, and filtering, it is left behind. 
The pure chloride is now digested with chalk to free it more com- 
pletely from iron by neutralizing any free acid. Another method, 
which is effectual in removing iron, is to add to the solution as at 
first formed a little freshly precipitated hydrated carbonate of zinc; 
filter and evaporate. 

The final concentration of the liquid requires care, as by pushing 
the heat too far the chloride is decomposed, and contains a por- 
tion of insoluble subchloride or oxide ; on the other hand, care must 
be taken to free it entirely of water, otherwise it will not harden 
into solid and dry masses. The proper point is ascertained by dip- 
ping into it a glass rod, on which it should thicken into a hard dry 
condition. There are two ways of finishing this operation. In 
one case, the mass, in its fused condition, is poured on to a dry 
marble slab, and when nearly cool, is broken into fragments and 
put immediately into dry salt mouth bottles, usually fsj capacity. 
Another plan is to warm the bottles thoroughly in a sand bath, and 
drop the fused mass, a little at a time, into them ; if in the proper 
condition, the separate concretions will not run together, but remain 
in a convenient shape for removal from the bottle when required. 

Chloride of zinc, as thus prepared, is white, crystalline, and semi- 
transparent, rapidly absorbing water if exposed to the air; soluble 
in alcohol and water. If a large amount of sediment is present in 
the aqueous solution, it may be inferred that by the intense heat 
employed in its concentration and fusion, a portion has been reduced 
to the condition of oxide as above. 

It is used as a powerful escharotic and as a remedy for toothache, 
and in solution for its antiseptic properties; for this latter use, espe- 
cially for dissecting-room purposes, it is convenient to employ a 
solution of zinc in the muriatic acid without either purifying or con- 
centrating it to dryness. Such a solution is diluted by the addition 
of from four to seven parts of water to inject the dead subject. 

Cyanuret of Zinc. 

Prepared by precipitating a recently formed solution of cyanuret 
of potassium with an equivalent of sulphate of zinc, washing and 
drying the precipitate. It is a white insoluble powder, and has 
been used in epilepsy, chorea, neuralgia, &c, and as a substitute for 
hydrocyanic acid. Dose, gr. \ to j. 



PREPARATIONS OP LEAD. 389 

Valerianate of Zinc. 

Prepared by decomposing sulphate of zinc with valerianate of 
soda in solution at 200° F. On evaporation, crystals of the vale- 
rianate collect on the surface, and are skimmed off, washed with cold 
water to separate adhering sulphate of soda, and dried. The salt is 
in pearly scales with a faint valerian odor, astringent metallic taste ; 
sparingly soluble in water, more so in alcohol. It is a good deal 
prescribed, perhaps more than any other salt of valerianic acid, 
being adapted to a variety of nervous affections. Dose, gr. j to ij 
in pill, repeated at intervals. 



CHAPTER VII. 

ON LEAD, SILVER, BISMUTH. 



Plumbum. (Lead.) 

Metallic lead is not used in medicine, nor is it officinal for use 
in preparing any of its salts. It is abundantly diffused in the form 
of galena, a native sulphuret, which is extensively worked in this 
country for the production of the metal. Exposed for a long time to 
its influence, individuals exhibit symptoms of slow poisoning, called 
lead colic. In over-doses its salts are poisons. 

Lead is a. soft bluish-colored metal, very malleable and fusible; 
its properties are familiar to most. It forms five oxides, of which 
the only one important in a pharmaceutical point of view is the first 
in the following series. 

Preparations op Lead. 

Plumbi Oxiduni Semivitreum, Pb,0, Litharge. Yellow or reddish, flakes or powder. 
Emplastrum Plumbi. See fixed oils, also plasters. 

Plumbi Acetas, Pb0,Ac,3H0 r Matted acicular crystals, whitish by efflorescence. 
Liquor Plumbi Subacetatis. A clear heavy liquid, depositing white carbonate. 
Liquor Plumbi Subacet. Dilutus. fgij liq. plumb, sub. acet. to Oj. Sedative astrin- 
gent. 
Plumbi Carbonas, PbO,C0 2 . A heavy, white, opaque powder. 
Plumbi Nitras, PbO,N0 5 . White crystals, soluble in water, disinfectant. 
Plumbi Iodidum, Pbl. A bright yellow amorphous powder, used in ointment. 

Plumbi Oxidum Semivitreum., U. S. (Semivitrified Oxide of Lead, 
Litharge.) 

Generally obtained as a secondary product in the cupellation of 
argentiferous galenas, when the oxide becomes fused or semivitri- 



390 ON LEAD, SILVER, AND BISMUTH. 

fled, and is driven off in hard particles of a scaly texture. English 
litharge is the best. It is in the form of small red or orange red 
scales, devoid of smell or taste ; soluble, or almost entirely so, in 
dilute nitric acid. It is much contaminated with iron and copper, 
and usually contains a little carbonic acid. It is chiefly used for its 
effect on fixed oils, with which it combines, and hence occasions 
paint to which it is added to dry and harden rapidly. 

Plumbi Acetas, IT. S. Saccharum Saturni. {Sugar of Lead.) 

Made by dissolving litharge in dilute acetic acid, evaporating 
the solution, and crystallizing ; also by the direct action of vinegar 
upon sheets of lead partially exposed to the air, so as to become 
oxidized, when the oxide being dissolved in the acid, the salt may 
be obtained in spongy masses composed of interlaced acicular 
crystals, possessing an acetic odor, and sweet metallic taste; exposed 
to the air it effloresces slightly, is soluble in four times its weight 
of cold water, and much less of boiling water, communicating a 
turbidness to the solution from taking up C0 2 , which ordinary 
water generally holds; this turbidness may be removed by the 
addition of a little acetic acid or vinegar. 

It is precipitated as a white carbonate by carbonate of soda, a 
yellow iodide by iodide of potassium, and a black sulphuret by 
sulphuretted hydrogen. It is also incompatible with all acids, and 
with numerous soluble salts. 

Sugar of lead is very extensively employed, both internally and 
externally. It ranks as a sedative astringent, checking morbid 
discharges, diminishing the natural secretions, and is capable by 
various combinations of filling a variety of indications in disease. 
Dose, gr. ss to iij in pill, care being taken not to induce its poisonous 
effects. Externally, it is used in solution from gr. j to gr. viij to 
fsj as a sedative, astringent, and desiccant to inflamed parts. 



Liquor Plumbi Subacetatis, U. S. (Solution of Diacetate of Lead. 
Goulard's Extract. Strong Lead Water) 

Reduced. 

Take of Acetate of lead .... Sxvj sij. 

Semivitrified oxide of lead, in fine powder lixss 3i x ss. 
Distilled water ..... Oiv Oss. 

Boil them together in a glass or porcelain vessel for half an hour, 
occasionally adding distilled water so as to preserve the measure, 
and filter through paper; keep the solution in closely stopped 
bottles. By the action of litharge on acetate of lead, the diacetate 
is formed by an additional equivalent of the oxide entering into 
the composition of the salt. 



WHITE LEAD. 391 

This is one of the simple preparations readily prepared by the 

Fig. 203. Fig. 204. 





Capsule. 

country practitioner. The litharge should be in 
very fine powder before commencing the pro- 
cess, and care should be taken to prevent its 
caking, and the consequent fracture of the ves- 
sel, by constant stirring; an evaporating dish will 
be found convenient, and in filtering, a covered 
funnel will be useful. It may be well to mention 
as necessary, in this case, that the filter should be 
strengthened by a little plain filter set into the 
funnel at its narrowest part, in which the plaited 
filter may rest. 

Closed filter. Solution of subacetate of lead is a clear color- 

less liquid, sp. gr. 1.267, with an alkaline reac- 
tion, and sweet, metallic astringent taste; agrees with the acetate 
in most of its properties, except that it precipitates gum from solu- 
tion. It is remarkable for its great affinity for carbonic acid, which 
occasions a precipitate of carbonate of lead, merely on exposure to 
the air. Diluted with water, it is applied as a sedative lotion to 
sprains, bruises, &c. (See Ceratum, and Linimentum Plumbi Sub- 
acetatis.) 

Liquor Plumbi jSubacetatis Dilutus, U. S. (Lead- Water.) 

Take of Solution of subacetate of lead . . f5ij. 
Distilled water . . ."■•.'. . Qj. 
Mix them. 

The water containing carbonic acid will produce a precipitate 
of carbonate of lead, which exposure to the air will increase so that 
the preparation is liable to become inert, and should be mixed 
when required. Lead- water is generally regarded as a very weak 
preparation, and but for its very general popular employment as a 
cooling wash, might be made much stronger, as may be readily 
done by extemporaneous prescription. 

Plumbi Carbonas, U. S. ( White Lead.) 

This important substance, which, as ground in oil, is extensively 
used as a pigment, is obtained by two methods : 1. By passing a 



392 ON LEAD, SILVER, AND BISMUTH. 

stream of C0 2 through a solution of subacetate of lead. The C0 2 
combines with the excess of PbO, and precipitates as PbO,C0 2 , 
while a neutral acetate of lead remains in solution ; this is boiled 
with a fresh addition of PbO, and again brought to the condition 
of subacetate, and treated as before with C0 2 . This plan is pursued 
by the French and Swiss manufacturers. 2. Our own manufac- 
turers cast the lead into thin sheets, which are then rolled into 
cylinders, five or six inches in diameter, and seven or eight high ; 
each cylinder is placed in an earthen pot, containing Oss vinegar, 
the lead being supported by projecting pieces from contact with 
the vinegar. Strata of these pots are arranged in sheds, with refuse 
stable materials, which are giving off C0 2 , and have a certain ele- 
vation of temperature clue to fermentation. At the end of six 
weeks, the stacks are unpacked, and the sheet lead is found almost 
entirely converted into a flaky, white, friable substance, which is 
the white lead. This is separated, and reduced to fine powder. 
Carbonate of lead is a heavy, opaque substance, in powder or friable 
lumps, insoluble in water, of a fine white color, inodorous, and 
nearly insipid. Wholly soluble with effervescence in dilute nitric 
acid. 

This is regarded as the most poisonous of the lead salts ; it is 
employed externally as a dusting powder in excoriations of chil- 
dren, and as an astringent and sedative dressing to ulcers and 
inflamed surfaces. 

Plumbi Nitras, U. S. {Nitrate of Lead) 

Litharge is dissolved in nitric acid, by the aid of heat ; the 
liquid filtered, and set aside to crystallize ; the PbO unites directly 
with the N0 5 to form the nitrate, which is an anhydrous salt, in 
beautiful white, nearly opaque, octahedral crystals, permanent in 
the air, of a sweet astringent taste, soluble in water and alcohol. 

It is an effectual disinfectant, decomposing sulphuretted hydrogen, 
and the hydrosulphurets contained in decomposing animal fluids. 

Ledoyen's Disinfecting Fluid, which is greatly esteemed abroad, is 
a solution of this salt in water 5j to fsj. It may be made directly 
by dissolving carbonate of lead, or litharge, in diluted nitric acid, 
to saturation, and will be found extremely useful in sick chambers, 
where the alvine discharges are extremely fetid and even infec- 
tious. 

Plumbi lodidum, U. S. (Iodide of Lead.) 

Take of Nitrate of lead, 

Iodide of potassium, each . Siv. 

Distilled water . . .a sufficient quantity. 

"With the aid of heat, dissolve the nitrate of lead in Oiss, and the 
iodide of potassium in Oss of the distilled water, and mix the solu- 



PREPARATIONS OF SILVER. 



393 



tions. Having allowed the insoluble matter to subside, pour off 
the supernatant liquid, wash the precipitate with distilled water, 
and dry it with a gentle heat. 

This process may be readily accomplished with the apparatus 
usually pertaining to a country practitioner's outfit; in fact, it is 
one of the easiest processes of the Pharmacopoeia. The two salts 
dissolved separately, may be mixed in a wide mouth bottle (Fig. 
204), the precipitate collected in a plain filter (Fig. 205). 



Fig. 205. 



Fig. 206. 





Bottle and filter for precipitating iodide of lead. 

Iodide of lead is a bright yellow, heavy, tasteless, inodorous 
powder, very sparingly soluble in cold, but readily soluble in boil- 
ing water, acetic acid, and alcohol. Fuses and sublimes yellow, 
but soon gives off violet vapors from decomposition. 

This preparation is supposed to have the resolvent properties of 
iodine, combined with those peculiar to lead, and hence it is used 
in ointment to reduce indolent tumors, scrofulous and syphilitic. 

Argentum, U.S. (Silver.) 

This well-known metal is placed in the list of the Pharmacopoeia 
on account of its use in preparing the several salts. It is found most 
abundantly as sulphuret combined with copper, lead, and antimony; 
the argentiferous galena, already referred to as furnishing litharge, 
is the most abundant source of silver. 



Preparations of Silver. 

Argenti Nitras, AgO,N0 5 (crystals). Colorless ; soluble in water; staining the skin. 
Argenti Nitras Fusus. In sticks ; thickness of a quill wrapped in paper. 
Argenti Oxidum, AgO. A blackish insoluble powder; soluble in ammonia. 
Argenti Cyanuretum, AgCy. A white, odorless, tasteless, insoluble powder. 

Argenti Nitras, U. S. {Crystallized Nitrate of Silver.) 

This salt is made by dissolving silver in nitric acid, evaporating 
the solution, and crystallizing. It is a new officinal, as in former 



394 ON LEAD, SILVER, AND BISMUTH. 

editions of the Pharmacopoeia the name was applied to the fused 
article in sticks. It is in crystals, which are anhydrous and colorless ; 
it is soluble in its weight of water, stains the skin black, and, when 
moistened and applied, acts as a caustic, which is its chief use. The 
crystallized article is preferred for solution, being less liable to be 
adulterated, and to decompose by the action of light, than the fused 
and wrapped article. Internally, it is given in pill with a tonic 
extract, preferably extract of quassia, as an astringent and alterative 
affecting the nervous system. When administered a long time, it is 
capable of staining the whole surface of the body blue or lead color. 
Dose, gr. \ togr.j. 

A r -genii Nitras Fusus, IT. S. {Lunar Caustic?) 

This is made as the preceding, except that instead of crystallizing 
it the evaporation is carried further, and after becoming dry it is 
fused, and when it runs like oil is poured into moulds. It is thus 
obtained in sticks of suitable sizes for application as a caustic ; it is, 
however, crystalline in structure, and very brittle. When the sticks 
have cooled, they are wrapped tightly in paper, in which they are 
sold. The crystals are more economical to the purchaser from 
having less paper weighed with them. The high heat applied in 
the fusion of nitrate of silver is apt to reduce a portion to the 
metallic condition, so that it has a gray color, and is not entirely 
soluble. The fusible nature of this salt enables us to introduce it 
readily into silver catheters and other surgical instruments, and 
also, by a very ready expedient, to point the sticks and alter them 
in size thus : Heat a half dollar held in a pair of pincers over a 
lamp, and apply to it the end of the stick of caustic, rotating it at 
such an angle as to give the requisite sharpness; if the coin is hot 
enough, it will fuse at the point and take the shape desired. 

The extensive use of the nitrate and its high price lead to the 
admixture of nitrate of potassa, especially with the fused article ; 
this adulteration may be detected by passing a stream of sulphu- 
retted hydrogen into its solution till it ceases to throw down sul- 
phuret of silver, then filtering and evaporating; there should be 
no residue. If 17 grains of the nitrate are dissolved in water, it 
should precipitate entirely the chlorine of 6 grains of common 
salt. 

The stain of nitrate of silver on the fingers and on articles of 
clothing is sometimes very inconvenient ; it may generally be re- 
moved by a little cyanide of potassium, or by moistening the part 
with tincture of iodine and immediately applying iodide of potassium, 
and then washing it off. 

So numerous are the incompatibles of nitrate of silver that it 
should generally be prescribed in pill, and singly, except with some 
vegetable excipient. It generally forms a white cloud, with the 
purest undistilled water, from the presence of chlorides. 



BISMUTH. 395 

Argenti Oxidum, U. S. 

Keduced. 

Take of Nitrate of silver . . liv. 3ss. 

Distilled water . . . Oss. f 3j. 

Solution of potassa . . Oiss, or q. s. f siij. 

Dissolve the nitrate of silver in the water, and add the solution of 
potassa as long as it produces a precipitate ; wash the precipitate 
repeatedly with water until the washings are nearly tasteless. 
Lastly, dry the powder and keep it in a well-stopped bottle pro- 
tected from the light. This is a dark brown or black powder, in- 
soluble in water, but soluble in ammonia and in acids. It is used 
instead of nitrate of silver for the tonic effects of the silver salts. 
Dose, gr. J to gr. ij. 

Argenti Cyanuretum, U. S. ( Cyanide of Silver.) 

The salt has been described on page 300, in connection with its 
use in preparing hydrocyanic acid. It is a tasteless, white powder, 
insoluble in water, soluble in ammonia and in cyanide of potassium. 
When heated, it yields cyanogen and metallic silver. 

BiSMUTHUM, XI. S. (Bismuth.) 

This is a rare metal, of a pinkish-white color, found native; fuses 
readily and crystallizes ; soluble in nitric acid, and the nitrate is pre- 
cipitated by water. 

Bismuihi Subnitras, U. S. 

By adding diluted nitric acid to bismuth, red fumes are given off; 
the metal is oxidized, and the oxide dissolved by the undecomposed 
acid, forming a solution of ternitrate of teroxide (Bi0 3 ,3N0 5 ); this 
is thrown into water and decomposed. Four equivalents are 
resolved into three of neutral, generally called subnitrate (Bi0 3 ,N0 5 ), 
and one of the nine nitrate (Bi0 3 ,9NO s ) ; the latter remains in solu- 
tion, while the officinal salt goes down as heavy white powder, 
almost insoluble, tasteless, odorless. It is darkened by sulphuretted 
hydrogen. 

It is tonic and antispasmodic. Dose, gr. j to vj, and is employed 
as a cosmetic, and with asserted advantage in skin diseases. 



396 ANTIMONY AND ARSENIC PREPARATIONS. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

ANTIMONY AND ARSENIC PREPARATIONS. 

Antimony. 

This metal is imported from France under the name of Regulus 
of Antimony ; it is a brittle metal, usually of a lamellated texture, of 
a bluish white color ; its Latin name Stibium, as abbreviated Sb, fur- 
nishes its symbol. It forms three combinations with oxygen, ter- 
oxide, Sb,0 3 , antimonious acid, Sb,0 4 , and antimonic acid, Sb,O r 
Teroxide and the tersulphuret enter into the officinal compounds. 
The preparations are here represented : — 

Preparations of Antimony. 

Antimonii Sulphuretum, Sb,S 3 . Native; black sulphuret or crude antimony. 
Antimonii Sulphuretum Prsecipitatum, S^Oj-f-oS^Sj-f-lGHO. (?) Reddish-brown 

powder. 
Kermes 1 Mineral, Sb,0 3 .2Sb,S 3 +6H0. (?) Dark-brown. 
Golden Sulphur. (?) Yellowish ; contains sulphur. 

Antim. et Potass. Tartras, Sb,0 3 .K0,2T-t-3H0. Translucent crystals or white powder. 
Yinum Antimonii. Gr. ij to f^j White wine. =gr. \ to f 3J. 
Pulvis Antimonialis. A variable mixture of Sb,0 3 -f-Sb,0 5 , with CaO,P0 5 , &c. 

Antimonii Sulphuretum, IT. S. {Black Sulphuret of Antimony) 

This drug should be procured in powder somewhat purified by 
fusion and levigated, in which condition it is kept by the druggists; 
it may then be considered as tolerably pure Sb,S 3 ; it should be 
soluble in boiling muriatic acid, giving off sulphuretted hydrogen. 
The terchloride produced (Sb,Cl,) is precipitated when thrown into 
water as a white oxychloride. Crude antimony is used as a medi- 
cine for horses, and to furnish the salts which follow. 

Antimonii Sulphuretum Prcecipitatum, U. S. (Precipitated Sulphuret 
of Antimony) 

This officinal salt is made by boiling black sulphuret of antimony 
with a solution of potassa, straining it, and, while yet hot, dropping 
into it diluted sulphuric acid as long as it produces a precipitate, 
which, being washed and dried, and rubbed into a fine powder, con- 
stitutes the officinal precipitated sulphuret. 

In this process, the alkali decomposes a portion of the black sul- 
phuret, forming sulphuret of potassium, and holds in solution both 
the undecomposed tersulphuret and the teroxide liberated by the 
alkali. On the addition to this of an acid, the sulphuret of potas- 
sium being decomposed and the excess of potassa neutralized, the 



TARTAR EMETIC. 397 

mixed tersulphuret and teroxide are thrown down, so that this 
powder has the complex composition represented in the syllabus. 

This powder is of a color varying from yellowish-red to reddish- 
brown, insoluble in water, but nearly soluble in solution of potassa. 
It is used as an alterative and diaphoretic, especially in combination 
with calomel and guaiacum, as in Plummer's pill, or with extract 
of conium or hyoscyamus in the treatment of chronic rheumatism. 

As its action depends very much upon the amount of acid in the 
stomach, it is of varying activity. Its dose is from gr. j to iij, twice 
a day. ' 

Kermes 1 Mineral. (Oxysulphuret of Antimony!) 

If the solution obtained by boiling the black sulphuret in potassa, 
instead of being treated with sulphuric acid as in the foregoing pro- 
cess, be allowed to cool after filtration, a dark brown powder will 
fall, which will consist of teroxide and tersulphuret of antimony in 
different proportion, constituting one variety of Kermes. There 
are modifications of the process of manufacture adapted to yielding 
this preparation, and the result is by no means uniform, though 
the composition given in the syllabus is approximate, and the dose 
may be stated at from gr. \ to gr. iij. 

Golden Sulphur of Antimony. 

Is deposited on the addition to the solution from which Kermes 
has been precipitated, of an acid ; it varies in composition and in 
color according to the degree of change which has taken place spon- 
taneously, and the consequent proportion of sulphur thrown down 
with the antimonial sulphuret and oxide. It may be given in larger 
doses than either of the foregoing. 

The three preparations above described all owe their activity 
chiefly to oxide of antimony, in which ingredient Kermes is usually 
considered the richest. Golden sulphur has it in the smallest pro- 
portion, and the officinal precipitated sulphuret is intermediate and 
the most uniform in composition and effects. 

Antimonii et Potassce Tartras, U. S. Antimonii Potassio Taftras. 
{Tartar Emetic) 

This preparation, as its name implies, is a double salt, consisting 
of the oxide of antimony, and potassa, united, each with an equiva- 
lent of tartaric acid. The first step in its preparation is the pre- 
cipitation of teroxide of antimony, Sb0 3 ; this is accomplished by- 
boiling the black sulphuret with muriatic acid, forming chloride of 
antimony, and liberating sulphuretted hydrogen ; the chloride is 
then thrown into water, which, as already stated, decomposes it, 
precipitating oxychloride (oxide of antimony contaminated with 
chloride, 9Sb0 3 +2SbCl 3 ). The second step is to boil this oxy- 
chloride with bitartrate of potassa. The oxide unites with the 



398 ANTIMONY AND ARSENIC PREPARATIONS. 

excess of tartaric acid of the bitartrate, forming a double tartrate of 
oxide of antimony and potassa, in the same way that oxide of iron 
is combined, as already stated, so as to form, with the bitartrate, the 
double tartrate of iron and potassa, &c. (See, also, Sodas, et Potasses, 
Tartras, and Potassce Tartras) The chloride of antimony present 
in the oxychloride is decomposed by water, during the boiling, into 
oxide and free muriatic acid, the former aiding in the production of 
the tartar emetic, and the latter by its presence preventing the pre- 
cipitation of iron and other metallic impurities, which would other- 
wise contaminate the product. 

Tartar emetic crystallizes in beautiful colorless, rhombic, octa- 
hedral crystals, which effloresce and become opaque by exposure to 
the air. It is wholly soluble in 20 parts of water. Its solution 
does not yield a precipitate with chloride of barium, or, if very 
dilute, with nitrate of silver. The watery solution is remarkable 
for decomposing rapidly, forming algte. 

It is incompatible with acids, alkalies, and alkaline carbonates. 
Astringent solutions precipitate it in an insoluble form. 

Internally administered, tartar emetic, in doses of gr. ij to iv, is 
a powerful emetic ; in doses of gr. Jg to J, it is a diaphoretic and ex- 
pectorant ; gr. I to gr. j, is a decided sedative. It is very much 
prescribed, and in a great variety of diseases, both alone and com- 
bined with other remedies. Externally, it is applied in ointment 
to raise a pustular eruption. 

Vinum Anlimonii, U. S. 

Take of Tartrate of antimony and potassa . 9j. 
AVhite wine f|x. 

Dissolve the tartrate of antimony and potassa in the wine. This is 
best done by trituration in a mortar, as explained under the head 
of Solution. It is regarded an improvement by some to triturate 
the antimonial with a few ounces of water, and then bring up the 
quantity to the required measure by the addition of wine. 

Dose, as an expectorant diaphoretic, *<l x to xxx, at intervals ; its 
chief use is to furnish a convenient method of giving very divided 
doses of the salt; f 3j contains I grain. 

Pulvis Antimonialis. Pulvis Jacobi. {James 1 Powder) 

This is directed to be made by mixing tersulphuret of antimony 
with horn shavings, throwing into a red-hot crucible, and stirring 
till vapor no longer rises, then rubbing the residue to powder and 
heating it to redness for two hours. Eeduced to a fine powder, the 
resulting compound is constituted chiefly of a mixture of teroxide 
of antimony (SbO,), antimonic acid (Sb0 5 ), with phosphate of lime. 
It is a white, inodorous, tasteless, insoluble powder, which was 
formerly much in use as an alterative and diaphoretic, and was 
officinal previous to 1830. Its dose is gr. iij to gr. x, every three 
or four hours, in fevers. 



AESENIC. 399 

Arsenicum, U. S. 

This metal, which is made officinal on account of its use in pre- 
paring its iodide, exists in nature in combination with nickel and 
cobalt. Owing to its volatile and oxidizable character, it is con- 
veniently collected as arsenious acid, during the smelting of these 
ores. When pure, metallic arsenic is brittle and granular, steel- 
colored, but usually dull and blackish on the surface. When 
heated, it sublimes, giving off a garlicky odor, and, if exposed to 
the air, absorbing oxygen and passing into arsenious acid, As0 3 . 
It forms, by higher oxidation, arsenic acid, As0 5 ; and also com- 
bines readily with sulphur. 4 

Pure metallic arsenic may be readily obtained by mixing, in a 
suitable reduction tube, arsenious acid and charcoal, and applying 
heat, when the metal will be sublimed. 

Preparations of Arsenic. 

Acidura Arseniosum, As0 3 . White, opaque, sometimes translucent, masses. 

Liquor Potassoe Arsenitis, As0 3 and KO,C0 2 , 64 grains each to Oj ; gr. iv, As0 3 =f ^j. 

Arsenici Iodidum, Asl 3 . A soluble, orange-colored salt. 

Liquor Hydrargyri et Arsenici Iodidum. Solution of AsI 3 -4-HgI 2 , each 70 grs. to Oj. 

Acidum Arseniosum, U.S. (White Arsenic) 

As before stated, this compound is a collateral product in the 
smelting of cobalt ores. These ores, which are worked extensively in 
Bohemia and Saxony, furnish the supplies of arsenic to commerce. 
It comes in broken masses ; sometimes translucent and sometimes 
opaque, white or buff-colored. Soluble in about 100 parts of cold 
water ; more soluble in boiling water, which, on cooling, deposits 
octahedral crystals. It should be preferred for chemical uses in 
mass, though the powder, which is liable to adulteration, answers 
well for common purposes. 

In medicine, it is used as an alterative and febrifuge. Dose, Jg 
to I grain. 

Externally it is occasionally applied in cancerous affections. 
Arsenious acid .is well known to be a violent corrosive poison, and 
being cheap and abundantly sold as a poison for rats and for other 
purposes, is apt to be taken accidentally or with criminal design. 
The best antidote is hydrated peroxide of iron, which is described in 
its appropriate place. It should be given in tablespoonful doses, 
repeated every ten minutes, till a large excess has been given. 

Pereira, Wood and Bache, and Fownes, give full descriptions of 
the mode of detecting arsenic in the stomach for medico-legal 
investigations. It is, however, well for the inexperienced to avoid 
such examinations, as there are many precautions necessary to an 
accurate and definite result. In a general way, the reactions may 
be stated as follows: 1. The solid substance, besides its physical 



400 ANTIMONY AND ARSENIC PREPARATIONS. 

characters already described ; a, is volatile ; b, emits a garlic odor if 
thrown on ignited charcoal ; c, if heated in a test tube with char- 
coal, a mirror of the metal is collected, which, on the outer surface, 
is very brilliant, and within of a gray, crystalline aspect. 

2. In solution arsenic is precipitated, a, as a yellow sulphuret by 
sulphuretted hydrogen ; b, as a lemon-colored arsenite of silver by a 
solution of nitrate of silver to which an excess of ammonia has 
been added ; c, as a pale green arsenite of copper by a solution of 
sulphate of copper, rendered alkaline by ammonia or potash. 

3. In vapor with nascent hydrogen (as liberated from water, 
sulphuric acid, and zinc); a, smells like garlic; b, burns with a 
bluish-white flame, and with the production of As0 3 in white smoke; 
c, deposits on a cold plate, held "in the flame, a black spot or ring of 
As, surrounded by a larger white ring of As0 3 ; d, burned in a 
tube it deposits a ring of metallic arsenic. 

Liquor Potassce Arsenitis, U. S. {Fowler's Solution) 

Take of Arsenious acid, in small fragments, 

Pure carbonate of potassa, each . sixty-four grains. 

Distilled water . ... a sufficient quantity. 

Compound spirit of lavender . half a fluidounce. 

Boil the arsenious acid and carbonate of potassa in a glass vessel 
or porcelain capsule, with twelve fluidounces of distilled water, till 
the acid is entirely dissolved ; to the solution, when cold, add the 
spirit of lavender, and afterwards sufficient distilled water to make 
it fill exactly the measure of a pint. 

This very popular medicine is so simple in its mode of prepara- 
tion as to be conveniently made by the country practitioner. It 
will be found to facilitate its completion, to triturate the arsenic 
into a fine powder before introducing it into the flask or capsule. 
The officinal recipe directs pure carbonate of potassa, KO,C0 2 ; 
but it is more common to use the ordinary granulated article 
2(KO,C02) 8(110), which, although usually contaminated with a 
little silica, and differing in its combining proportion by reason of 
the water it contains, is quite satisfactory. Fowler's Mineral Solu- 
tion has a characteristic reddish, almost opalescent appearance, a 
faint odor of lavender, and very little taste ; by some it is stated to 
be a solution of arsenious acid in the alkaline solution; by others, a 
solution of arsenite of potassa. Four grains of arsenious acid are 
used to each fluidounce. Dose, tt\, iij to xv. 

Arsenici Todidum, U.S. (Iodide of Arsenic.) 

Take of Arsenic (the metal) . . a drachm. 

Iodine .... five drachms. 

Rub the arsenic in a mortar until reduced to a very fine powder, 
free from metallic lustre, then add the iodine, and rub them together 



MERCURY. 401 

till they are thoroughly mixed, then put the mixture into a small 
flask or test-tube, loosely stopped, and heat it very gently until 
liquefaction occurs, then incline the vessel in different directions in 
order that any portion of the iodine which may have condensed on 
its inner surface may be returned into the fused mass. Lastly, pour 
the melted iodide on a porcelain slab, and when it is cold break it 
into pieces and put it into a bottle, which is to be well stopped. 
This is an orange-red crystalline solid, readily reduced to powder, 
entirely soluble in water, and wholly volatilized by heat. It is sel- 
dom prescribed extemporaneously, being little known to prac- 
titioners, although, doubtless capable of valuable therapeutic 
applications. 

It is made officinal for the purpose of furnishing a ready means 
of forming the solution which follows : — 

Liquor Arsenici et Hydrargyri lodidi, U. S. (Donovan's /Solution.) 

Take of Iodide of arsenic, 

Eed iodide of mercury, each . thirty-five grains. 
Distilled water . . . half a pint. 

Rub the iodides with half a fluidounce of the water used, and when 
they have dissolved, add the remainder of the water ; heat to the 
boiling point, and filter. According to my experience, there is no 
utility in the application of heat to this solution, at least in a ma- 
jority of cases. Of course, the mixed powder should be entirely 
dissolved. 

Donovan's solution is a clear, very pale straw-colored, or colorless 
liquid, with a slightly styptic taste. It should not be prescribed 
with other chemical preparations, as a general rule. It is a power- 
ful alterative, said to be particularly adapted to the treatment of 
venereal diseases. Dose, ^i v to xx. Bach f 3j contains about §■ 
grain of arsenic estimated as arsenious acid. 



CHAPTER IX. 

MERCURY. 

Hydrargyrum, U.S. (Mercury.) 

Mercury is obtained chiefly from its bisulphuret, native cinna- 
bar, by distillation with, lime; sometimes it is met with in its 
metallic state, and rarely combined with chlorine. Yery rich cin- 
nabar is found in California, from which a considerable proportion 
of our mercury is obtained. 



402 



HYDRARGYRUM, MERCURY. 



"When pure, mercury is a brilliant white, metallic liquid, becom- 
ing solid at —39° F., boiling at 662° F.; sp. gr. 13.5 ; entirely vapor- 
ized by heat ; when small globules of it are rolled slowly on a 
sheet of paper, not a particle should adhere. It dissolves many 
metals, as tin, bismuth, zinc, silver, and gold, forming amalgams 
with them. It may be separated from these when they contaminate 
it by distillation. It is not attacked by muriatic nor by cold sul- 
phuric acid, though the latter acid at a boiling temperature, forms 
with it a bisulphate of the deutoxide, sometimes called bipersul- 
phate. Nitric acid, also dissolves it, forming a binitrate of the deut- 
oxide. Mercury forms numerous salts, of which the following are 
officinal preparations, and will be presented to view in the present 
chapter. 

Mercurial Compounds. 





Off. Name. 


Comp. 


Uses. 


Hydrargyri Chloridum Corrosivum 


Hg,Cl 2 


Alterative, anti- 








septic, &c. 


" 


" Mite 


Hg,Cl 


Cathartic and al- 
terative. 


" 


Sulphas Flavus 


3Hg0 2 ,2S0 3 


Emetic and er- 

rhine. 
Alterative in sy- 


M 


Iodidum Rubrum 


Hgl 2 








philis, &c. 


" 


Iodidum 


Hgl 


do. 


" 


Sulphuretum Rubrum 


HgS 2 


Alterative fumi- 
gations. 


" 


" Nigrum 




Mild alterative. 


" 


Oxidum Rubrum 


Hg0 2 


Externally stim- 
ulant. 


" 


" Nigrum 


HgO 


Alterative, siala- 
gogue, &c. 


(( 


Cyanuretum 


HgCy 2 


Alterative in sy- 
philis, &c. 


Hydrargyrum Ammoniatum 


HgCl,NH 2 


Externally in 








ointment. 




" cum Creta 


3,Hg+5,CaO,C0 2 


Antacid and al- 
terative. 



Dose. 



rV t0 4 gr- 
fr to 20 grs. 
Emetic, 3 grs. 
i\r to £ gr. 

I to 1 gr. 

gr. v to 3j. 
^ to 3 grs. 

tV t0 £ e r - 

\ to 3 grs. 



The composition stated in the syllabus is that generally adopted 
by pharmacologists in this country ; it is founded on the view that 
the combining equivalent of mercury is 202. Supposing the equi- 
valent to be 101, as European chemists generally do, we should 
call corrosive chloride, protochloride (HgCl) ; calomel, subchloride 
(2Hg,Cl), and so on. 

Hydrargyri Chloridum Corrosivum, U.S. {Corrosive Sublimate) 

By the action of boiling sulphuric acid on mercury, the bipersul- 
phate (Hg0 2 ,2S0 3 ), is first formed. "When this is heated with com- 
mon salt, mutual exchange takes place, and bichloride of mercury 



CALOMEL. 403 

and sulphate of soda, the former of which sublimes, are produced. 
The changes are represented in the formula Hg0 2 ,2S0 3 +2NaCl= 
HgCl 2 +2(NaO,S0 3 ). Corrosive sublimate is in heavy white crys- 
talline masses, of a styptic and metallic taste; soluble in about 
twenty parts of cold water; much more so in alcohol; soluble also 
in ether ; it melts and entirely sublimes when heated. Its watery 
solution, precipitated by alkalies or lime-water, throws down the 
red or yellowish binoxide. (See Extemporaneous Prescriptions) 
When this precipitate is heated, it gives off oxygen, and runs into 
globules of metallic mercury; a solution of corrosive sublimate 
precipitates albumen, and forms with it a definite insoluble com- 
pound, to which property its use as an antiseptic is due. 

It is a very powerful irritant; when taken in large doses, it 
causes burning at the epigastrium, vomiting and purging ; applied 
to the skin, it is corrosive. It is less apt to produce salivation than 
the other preparations of mercury, and in very small doses it is 
useful as an alterative in chronic affections, syphilitic or not ; exter- 
nally, it may be used as a lotion, gargle, injection, or ointment, in 
chronic skin diseases, ulcerated sore throats, and chronic discharge, 
from mucous membranes. 

Dose, Jg gr. to | gr. in solution, or pill, with crumb of bread. 
The solution for external use is usually made in the proportion of 
\ or J gr. to f5j of water. It is much used in solution with muri- 
ate of ammonia, which increases its solubility, as a poison for bed- 
bugs; the proportions to be used are one ounce of corrosive sub- 
limate, half ounce of muriate of ammonia to two pints water. 
When taken in poisonous doses, recourse should be had immedi- 
ately to albuminous liquids ; eggs, if at hand, should be administered 
freely, or a thin paste of wheat flour or milk, care being taken to 
evacuate the bowels and to carry off completely the precipitated 
material, which, though comparatively insoluble, is by no means 
inert. 

Hydrargyri Ghloridum Mite, U. S. {Calomel) 

To prepare this, the bipersulphate of mercury first formed, as ex- 
plained under the bichloride, is afterwards, by being rubbed with 
a second equivalent of the metal, reduced to a condition capable of 
forming, when heated, the neutral sulphate (HgO,S0 3 ); and this, by 
the action of the common salt, is converted into the protochloride of 
mercury, sulphate of soda being produced at the same time. 

Calomel, when sublimed, occurs in cakes, with a crystalline 
structure ; but as a drug, it is met with in the form of a white, or 
yellowish white, heavy powder, without odor or taste; sublimes 
with heat; treated with potash, it is blackened, from the precipita- 
tion of the protoxide, which, when heated, runs into metallic 
globules. When boiled or washed in water, this fluid should after- 
wards give no precipitate with nitrate of silver, lime-water, or sul- 
phuretted hydrogen. By the action of nitric and hydrochloric 



404 HYDRARGYRUM, MERCURY. 

acids, it is converted slowly into the bichloride. Calomel should 
not be prescribed at the same time with muriate of ammonia, or 
with nitro-muriatic acid, a remedy which like it seems specially 
indicated in torpor of the liver, as symptoms of violent gastric 
irritation have been unexpectedly produced from this cause. 

The peculiarities of calomel as a mercurial agent, are, that it pro- 
duces little local irritant action ; it acts as a purgative by increas- 
ing the secretion of bile and other intestinal fluids ; hence, is much 
relied on in affections of the liver, and obstructions to the portal 
circulation. It is much combined with other remedies, being 
greatly modified in its effects by judicious combination with seda- 
tives, cathartics, astringents, &c. 

Dose, as a purgative, 5 grs. to 9j ; to produce ptyalism, J 
grain to 1 grain, frequently repeated. It has become customary to 
administer exceedingly minute quantities of this preparation, so 
low as the fa of a grain repeated every hour or two, the constitu- 
tional effects being perceptible after a grain has been given in this 
way. I am informed that its power to salivate is greatly increased 
by long- trituration with sugar' of milk. 

Hydrargyri Sulphas Fkivus, U. S. {Turpeth Mineral) 

The bipersulphate of mercury, formed by the action of boiling 
sulphuric acid on the metal, and mentioned in the two preceding 
formulae, is readily decomposed by reducing it to powder and sub- 
mitting it to the action of warm water, which changes its composi- 
tion and properties, producing a yellow-colored insoluble subsalt, 
3Hg0 2 -f- 2S0 3 . This is used almost exclusively as an errhine, 
variously diluted with snuff, powdered liquorice root, lycopodium, &c. 

Hydrargyri Iodidum Bubrum, U. S. (Biniodide or Red Iodide of 
Mercury) 

The two iodides of mercury resemble the two chlorides in their 
relative medicinal activity. This is, like corrosive sublimate, a 
powerful poison, as it is one of the preparations easily made from 
ingredients always at hand. The following is the officinal process 
in detail : — 

Take of Corrosive chloride of mercury . . . half an ounce. 

Iodide of potassium five drachms. 

Distilled water a pint. 

Dissolve the chloride of mercury in twelve fluidounces of water 
by trituration in a mortar, adding small quantities of this solvent at 
a time, and pouring it into a precipitating jar, Fig. 207, till the salt 
is completely taken up ; then dissolve the iodide of potassium in 
four fluidounces of water by shaking them together in a vial. Now 
pour the solution of iodide into the solution of chloride contained 
in the precipitating jar ; this will produce immediately a brilliant 
scarlet-colored precipitate of biniodide of mercury, leaving in solu- 



IODIDE OF MERCURY. 



405 



tion the very soluble chloride of potassium. Now fold a plain 
filter, Fig. 209 ; having poured off the supernatant liquid from the 



Fig. 207. 



Fig. 208. 



Fig. 209. 






Precipitating jar. 



4 oz. fluted vial. 



precipitated biniodide, throw the latter on the filter in a funnel and 
wash it by adding repeatedly fresh portions of pure water. Wrap 
the filter up in soft paper, and lay it away with a weight on it in a 
warm place till dry. 

Biniodide of mercury is a beautiful scarlet-colored powder. In- 
soluble in water, but soluble in alcohol, and in solutions of iodide 
of potassium and chloride of sodium. It is wholly sublimed by 
heat, condensing in scales which are at first yellow but afterwards 
red. It is conveniently given in pill, but, perhaps, more frequently 
in solution of iodide of potassium with or without the addition of 
vegetable alterative preparations. Dose, ^ to J gr. (See Extem- 
poraneous Formulae) 

Hydrargyri lodidum, IT. S. (Protiodide, or Green Iodide of Mercury.) 
Conveniently made by the apothecary or physician as follows: — 
Take of Mercury 



Iodine 
Alcohol 



an ounce, 
five drachms, 
sufficient. 



Eub the mercury and iodine together, adding sufficient alcohol to 
form a soft paste, and continue the trituration till the globules 
disappear. Then dry the iodide in the dark with a gentle heat, and 
keep it in a well-stopped bottle, covered with dark paper to pro- 
tect it from the light. 

The mercury is conveniently weighed by balancing a small paper 
pill-box on the scales, and giving to one side of it a little crimp, as 
shown in Fig. 210 ; so that a small stream of the 
metal may be poured out conveniently. The accurate 
adjustment of the quantity is troublesome. The iodine 
also requires care in weighing, owing to its corrosive 
action on the metals. The most convenient method 
is to balance a pair of watch-glasses by filing away 
the heavier of the two, or by pasting on to the lighter a 
small piece of tin foil, and then to lay them away for 
weighing corrosive substances. In the absence of this, a piece of 



Fig. 210. 



406 HYDRARGYRUM, MERCURY. 

thick and well glazed writing paper may be put on to each plate 
and balanced. If the scales are kept in a case, as shown in the first 
chapter, they should be taken out whenever iodine is to be weighed 
on them, as the vapor becoming diffused through the air inside the 
case will corrode the metal. 

Iodide of mercury is a greenish-yellow powder, insoluble in water, 
alcohol, or solution of chloride of sodium, but soluble in ether. 
Heated quickly, it sublimes in red crystals, which afterwards be- 
come yellow by age ; it is converted into sesquiodide, which has a 
yellow color, and is believed to be more active. It is used as an 
alterative, usually in pill. Dose, ^ gr. to 1 gr.; it is incompatible 
with iodide of potassium, which converts it into biniodide with sepa- 
ration of mercury. 

Hydrargyri Sulphuretum Rubnim, U. S. {Red Sulphuret of Mercury. 
Artificial Cinnabar.) 

"When melted sulphur is brought in contact with mercury, direct 
union ensues; and if the compound is afterwards sublimed, it con- 
sists of dark scarlet, shining, crystalline masses, forming, when pow- 
dered, a beautiful scarlet color known by the name of vermilion ; 
insoluble in water or alcohol. Volatilizes entirely when heated 
alone, but with potash it is reduced to metallic globules. 

When the fumes are brought into contact with the surface of the 
body, the drug acts as a topical alteration, and becomes absorbed, 
affecting the system the same as other mercurials. It is used as a 
fumigation in some syphilitic skin diseases; 3ss, thrown on a hot 
iron and placed beneath the patient, wrapped in a blanket, will affect 
the object. The vapor should not be allowed to enter the lungs. 

Hydrargyri Sulphuretum Nigrum, U. S. (Ethiops Mineral?) 

Made by rubbing mercury and sulphur together till the globules 
disappear and a powder is formed. 

Ethiops is an insoluble black powder which is rarely used for 
any purpose. It may be safely given in doses of from gr. v to 3j> 
though marked by no very active properties. 

Hydrargyri Oxidum Rubrum, U. S. (Peroxide of Mercury. Red 
Precipitate.) 

Prepared by dissolving, with heat, mercury, fibiij, in a mixture 
of nitric acid, f oxviij, and water, Oij ; evaporating the liquor, and 
triturating what remains to a powder. This is put into a very 
shallow vessel, and heated till red fumes cease to rise. Red oxide 
is in orange-red, shining, cr} T stalline scales ; when strongly heated, 
it yields oxygen and metallic mercury, without the production of 
red fumes. It is insoluble in water, but soluble in nitric and hydro- 
chloric acids. It is used only externally, as a stimulant and escha- 
rotic ; it is much applied as an ointment to the eye ; as an escha- 



PRECIPITATE OF MERCURY. 407 

rotic, in powder, alone, or mixed with sugar, to specks in the cornea, 
over chancres, and fungous ulcers. 

It requires long trituration to deprive it of its crystalline struc- 
ture, the presence of which, of course, interferes with its successful 
application to delicate surfaces. 

Hydrargyri Oxidum Nigrum, IT. S. {Black Oxide of Mercury) 

Made by triturating calomel with a solution of caustic potassa. 
The protoxide of mercury precipitates, while chloride of potassium 
remains in solution, and is separated by washing. 

Black oxide of mercury is in powder, which becomes olive- 
colored by the action of light. It is wholly dissipated by heat, 
metallic globules being sublimed. It is insoluble in water, but is 
wholly dissolved by acetic acid. 

As a medicine, it is like calomel in its action, and is occasionally 
substituted for it, but is said to be liable, from occasionally contain- 
ing deutoxide, to operate harshly. 3ij, placed on a hot iron, answers 
the purposes of a mercurial vapor bath. Triturated with lard, it 
substitutes mercurial ointment. Its dose, as an alterative, is \ to 
\ grain daily ; as a sialagogue, gr. j to iij, three times a day, in pill. 

Hydrargyri Cyanuretum, U. S. (Bicyanide of Mercury.) 

By boiling ferrocyanuret of iron with red oxide of mercury, till 
the mixture becomes of a yellowish color, filtering, and crystalliz- 
ing, this may be made with great facility by following, literally, 
the officinal directions. It is in freely soluble, permanent, transpa- 
rent crystals, which evolve hydrocyanic acid, on the addition of 
hydrochloric acid. By heat it is decomposed, giving off cyanogen, 
and leaving a black residuum containing metallic mercury. 

Bicyanide of mercury is, like the bichloride, a powerful poison, 
differing from that remedy in producing no epigastric pain in its 
operation. Some practitioners prefer it to bichloride in the same 
doses, and for the same purposes. 

Hydrargyrum Ammoniatum, IT. S. ( White Precipitate of Mercury.) 

"When ammonia is added to a solution of corrosive sublimate, a 
peculiar compound, and not the oxide of mercury, is precipitated. 
This is a white, amorphous powder, in irregular masses, frequently 
bearing the impression of the fabric on which it is drained and 
dried. It sublimes when heated ; is insoluble in water ; dissolves 
in hydrochloric acid without effervescence ; and, when heated with 
potash, gives off ammonia, and becomes yellow from the formation 
of the binoxide of mercury. Generally considered as a compound 
of amidogen or amide (NH 2 ) with chloride of mercury. This salt 
is never used internally ; it is applied externally, to chronic skin 
affections in the form of ointment. 



408 HYDRARGYRUM, MERCURY. 

Hydrargyrum cum Creta, U. S. (Mercury with Chalk.) 

Made by triturating three parts of mercury with five parts of 
prepared chalk, till it loses its fluidity and metallic lustre, and 
assumes the form of a dark-gray powder. 

This process is one of great labor ; and other modes of prepara- 
tion have been employed. Those which proceed upon the principle 
of oxidizing the mercury are objectionable, as rendering this very 
mild powder drastic and violent in its action. It is much less used 
than blue mass (which it resembles in its action). The proportion 
of mercury is, partly from its defective preparation, larger than in 
blue mass, but it is said to be equally mild when well made. A 
good substitute is formed by mixing powdered blue mass with 
prepared chalk, extemporaneously. 

Its chief use is in treating the complaints of children, the chalk 
neutralizing acid in the stomach, while the mercury increases the 
biliary secretion. Dose for a child, from i to gr. iij. 

For other mercurial preparations, see Pills arid Ointments. 

The following convenient test for the mercurials is very delicate, 
and well adapted to pill masses, &c. : — 

On to a copper coin, brightened with a little N0 5 , a small portion 
of the suspected substance is placed and moistened with a drop or 
two of water into a pasty consistence; a small fragment of KI is 
added to it, and on washing it a mercurial stain will remain. Nu- 
merous so-called " vegetable" and other " quack" pills will be found 
to show the presence of calomel in this way. The reaction in the 
case of blue mass is less rapid, though equally certain. 



PART V. 
EXTEMPORANEOUS PHARMACY. 



CHAPTER I 

ON PRESCRIPTIONS. 



Iisr assigning a place in this work to prescriptions, and to the art 
of prescribing medicines, it is with a full appreciation of its inti- 
mate connection with therapeutics, a branch of knowledge with 
which the pharmaceutist can lay claim to but little practical ac- 
quaintance; and yet it must be apparent, that this subject has 
bearings which are peculiarly adapted to arrest the attention and 
claim the investigation of one whose daily avocations place him 
directly between the physician and the patient, and give him most 
favorable opportunities for judging of the pharmaceutical eligibility 
of combinations, and not unfrequently of their effects. 

The art of prescribing medicines has so intimate a connection 
with that of preparing and dispensing them, that a treatise on the 
latter subject, not embracing the former, would be wanting in its 
most interesting feature to the student of medicine and the phy- 
sician, and in a work like the present, designed in part for these 
classes, it seems appropriate to approach the art of dispensing 
through a brief general treatise on that of prescribing. 

If any evidence were needed of the necessity of this kind of 
instruction, it would be furnished in the acknowledged inaccuracy 
of extemporaneous prescriptions as generally issued, especially by 
inexperienced practitioners. It is a common remark of recent 
graduates of medicine, that one of their greatest difficulties is in 
writing prescriptions; lacking the means of systematic instruction 
in this most important practical duty, they are exceedingly apt to 
fall into confused and unscientific methods of prescribing, from 
which no amount of experience entirely rids them. 

To those who have opportunities of judging, it will be scarcely 
necessary to add illustrations of this, but for my own information, 
and that of my readers, I have made the following table, founded 
upon an examination of a large number of prescriptions com- 
pounded by myself and several other apothecaries, in different 



410 



ON PRESCRIPTIONS. 



parts of Philadelphia. They were taken indiscriminately from the 
files of different years, and different seasons of the year. Although 
the number and extent of the prescriptions examined, and of the 
points noted, are not sufficient to justify any very important con- 
clusions, the tables may serve as a nucleus for future investigations, 
and may illustrate some points connected with the subject of the 
present chapter. 

Analytical Table of Prescriptions. Shoiving the percentage of Errors in 
Nomenclature, the Proportion of each of the Prevailing Forms of Pre- 
paration, the Extent to which some of the leading Drugs are pre- 
scribed, Sf-c. 





First 


Second 


Third 


Fourth 


Fifth 


Sixth 




Prescriptions. 


100. 


100. 


100. 


100. 


100. 


100. 


Average. 


Correct in nomenclature 


42 


59 


39 




75 


70 


57 


Incorrect in nomenclature 


58 


41 


61 




25 


30 


43 


With directions for use 


43 


65 




59 


65 


55 


57 


Without directions for use 


57 


35 




41 


35 


45 


43 


Single permanent preparations 


26 


36 


19 




22 


25 


26 


Compound and strictly extempo- 
















raneous preparations 


74 


64 


81 




78 


75 


74 


In the form of pills 


22 


17 


28 


16 


21 


21 


21 


" powders 


21 


18 


17 


10 


20 


19 


17 


Various liquid forms 


41 


46 


42 


50 


50 


47 


46 


Directed for infusion 


4 


5 


1 


4 


4 


1 


3 


For external use 


9 


21 


14 


20 


6 


15 


14 


Suppositories 


1 












1 


Containing pil. hydr. or hydr. c. 
















creta 


13 


9 


5 


5 


15 


13 


10 


" calomel 


11 


11 


15 


8 


16 


14 


13 


" op. morph. or hyosc. 


26 


27 


16 


3 


30 


39 


24 


" iodine or iod. potas. 


6 


2 


12 


1 


4 


10 


6 


" cinchona or its alka- 
















loids 


7 


11 


11 


7 


12 


7 


9 




03 


60 


59 


24 


77 


73 


62 



Note. — The first, second, and third hundred were all compounded at one shop, the 
remainder at different establishments. Very slight errors in nomenclature were not 
counted among those marked incorrect in nomenclature, and as the observation was 
made by different parties, an entirely uniform standard was not adopted. Among the 
various liquid forms, in some of the columns, are a few which are also included under 
the head, for external use. 

From an analysis of 140 prescriptions in a western city, the following items are 
extracted : Correct in nomenclature, 81 ; incorrect do. 59. In pills 15, powders 29, 
liquid forms 72. For external use 18. 

The art of prescribing properly is the practical application of the 
knowledge of therapeutics, chemistry, and pharmacy, to the cure of 
disease. No department of his duties puts the skill of the phy- 
sician to a closer test ; none calls for the exercise, to a greater ex- 
tent, of that invaluable quality, whether intuitive or acquired, 



ON PRESCRIPTIONS. 411 

called tact; and yet few departments of medical knowledge are to 
be acquired with less facility, or are less insisted upon as necessary 
branches of a medical education. 

Although the art of prescribing can only be acquired practically, 
the general principles pertaining to it are capable of classification, 
and have been fully discussed. 

The celebrated Pharmacologia of Dr. Paris, of London, published 
originally in 1812, and republished in this country in 1844, con- 
tains the fullest dissertation in our language upon " the science and 
art of prescribing." The reader is referred to that elaborate work for 
a full discussion of the subject. Many of the views taught at that 
time are, however, abandoned, and the subject is capable of being 
much simplified in accordance with the more modern improve- 
ments in pharmacy. The large number of efficient and permanent 
Galenical preparations make prescribing comparatively simple to 
the practitioner who has kept pace with the advance of the times, 
while the publication of Formularies in which all the preparations 
of each drug, whether permanent or extemporaneous, are detailed, 
has to a certain extent substituted an original and extemporaneous 
system of selection and combination of remedies. 

Medicinal preparations which are kept on hand by the apothe- 
cary, to be dispensed alone or used in compounding prescriptions, 
are called permanent, while, those compounded by direction of the 
practitioner to meet the indications as they arise, in the course of 
disease, are called extemporaneous. 

This distinction, however, is far from being absolute or even 
well marked. Some of those called permanent are known to dete- 
riorate in a greater or less degree by age, while many classed as 
extemporaneous will keep an indefinite length of time. For most 
of the permanent class we have formulae or prescriptions, either 
published in Pharmacopoeias, Dispensatories, or Medical Formularies, 
while the extemporaneous are the product of the skill and inge- 
nuity of the prescriber at the bedside of his patient. The publica- 
tion of well contrived formulae, by which the crude drugs are 
brought into suitable conditions for use, as the infusions, tinctures, 
syrups, extracts, &c, and by which these and the drugs themselves 
are combined into still more available preparations, greatly facili- 
tates the practice of medicine, particularly in those districts where, 
from the absence of apothecaries, it is impossible to reach perfection 
in extemporaneous pharmacy. Objections lie against the general 
use of this last class of preparations to the exclusion of those which 
are dictated by the emergencies of the case, from the impractica- 
bility of adapting any set of formulae to every shade of disease and 
of idiosyncrasy, and from the impossibility of the practitioner 
storing securely in his memory their ingredients, proportions, &c. ; 
so that the thorough student has no resource but to acquire a 
knowledge of the principles, to regulate the selection and combina- 
tion of remedies, and learn the art of prescribing experimentally. A 
limited number of formulae, framed with a view of illustrating these 



412 ON PRESCRIPTIONS. 

principles and modes of combination, will, with this object in view, 
be found highly useful, if not indispensable to the student; but 
these must be regarded as stepping-stones to a knowledge of the 
art of prescribing rather than as embodying that knowledge. The 
vast extent and variety of adaptation of the materia medica pre- 
clude the possibility of compressing into any series of formulas, a 
complete view of all the shades of combination and modification 
which are attainable on enlightened therapeutical and pharmaceu- 
tical principles. 

In the preparations introduced to view thus far, a prominent dis- 
tinction has been drawn between those which are officinal in the 
U. S. Pharmacopoeia, and those which are not, introducing the 
former alone into the syllabi intended for the use of the student 
in committing to memory their names, proportions, properties, and 
doses. In the part of the work which follows, this distinction is 
regarded as less important, and most of the formulas are introduced 
less with a view to impress them upon the memory, than to illus- 
trate the pharmaceutical principles on which they are based. 

The very obvious division of preparations into simple and com- 
pound needs no other mention than to explain that the addition of 
a vehicle or menstruum, not added with a view to its medical effect, 
does not render a preparation compound, in the sense in which that 
term is ordinarily applied. Simple rhubarb pills contain rhubarb 
and soap ; while compound rhubarb pills contain rhubarb, aloes, 
myrrh, and oil of peppermint ; and with a view to furnish distinc- 
tions between preparations which have very similar composition, 
the term compound is sometimes useful. Opium pills contain 1 
grain of opium and \ grain of soap; while compound soap pills 
contain the same ingredients in different proportions. 

The Language used in Prescriptions. 

In Great Britain and the North of Europe, prescriptions are writ- 
ten in Latin; in France, in the vernacular language. AVe mostly 
follow the British custom, although some of our practitioners occa- 
sionally depart from the usual style, and follow the Pharmacopoeia 
by inditing their prescriptions in plain English. The relative 
adaptation of Latin and English for the purpose has long been 
discussed, and is still a mooted point among physicians and phar- 
maceutists. It is scarcely worth while to dwell upon the arguments 
advanced on either side, and which seem naturally to suggest them- 
selves. The chief desideratum is to secure accuracy without an 
unnecessary and cumbersome phraseology, and for this purpose the 
officinal names of all medicines are to be preferred to either of their 
common and changing synonyms. An extended view of the sub- 
ject cannot fail to convince one of this. Many medicines are called 
by very different names in different parts of the country, and the 
same name is liable to be applied to either of several different drugs. 

If snakeroot were ordered, the pharmaceutist might be at a loss 



THE LANGUAGE USED IN PEESCRIPTIONS. 413 

whether serpentaria, cimicifuga, asarum, senega, eryngium, or some 
of the numerous other roots occasionally, or perhaps locally, de- 
nominated snakeroots, were desired ; while, if the specific English 
name, as Virginia., Canada, Hack, or button snakeroots, was applied, 
the merit of conciseness would be sacrificed. 

If chamomile were ordered, it would be necessary to specify 
whether Eoman, German, or American; while in Latin, anthemis, 
matricaria, or anthemis cotula would be both short and distinctive. 

In the foregoing illustrations, however, we have the least forcible 
instances. There can be no comparison between the names sugar 
of lead and plumbi acetas, white vitriol and zinci sulphas, liver of 
sulphur and potassii sulphuretum, salt of tartar and potassii car- 
bonas. The name which expresses the chemical composition of a 
substance is generally, of all that can be devised, the best ; and 
hence, even in common language, most familiar chemical substances 
are beginning to be called by their chemical names. Although 
there is little difference between the English and the Latin chemical 
names, the latter has the advantage for use in prescription : it is 
easier of abbreviation, or its abbreviations are more familiar ; while 
the omission of the connecting preposition of, between the two 
parts of the name, reduces it to a single compound word, rendering 
it shorter and more quickly written. 

It is often said, and not without truth, that the Latin used in 
prescription is, for the most part, quite incorrect, and especially 
when the terminations are written out, or attempted ; but gram- 
matical errors are certainly far less important than either chemical, 
pharmaceutical, or therapeutical; and when we consider how few 
physicians, even among those classically educated, have advantages 
of keeping up, throughout the busy scenes of their professional 
career, the knowledge of Latin acquired in their schoolboy days, 
we can scarcely wonder that many errors of this description occur. 
Moreover, the language used in prescription, viewed with reference 
to its abbreviations, signs, and Latinized names of various origin, 
must be regarded as distinct from the Latin taught in schools, and 
requires to be studied in connection with scientific nomenclature 
generally, and, in fact, constitutes a part of the study of materia 
medica and pharmacy. Every officinal drug and preparation has 
its particular name given to it authoritatively in the Pharmacopoeia, 
and those not there mentioned may be distinguished by their appro- 
priate botanical or chemical designations. The groundwork of a 
correct writing of prescriptions is a knowledge of these names; 
and it matters little whether the physician write his prescriptions 
in Latin or English, if he designates each individual article by its 
officinal name. 

The propriety of using the officinal Latinized names in a plain 
English formula may admit of a doubt, but, if sanctioned by cus- 
tom and authority, might be adopted, and thus the principal ob- 
jection to the plain English prescription would be removed. 



414 ON PRESCRIPTIONS. 

The officinal name, though framed upon a Latin model, might be 
separated from the idea of its origin, and used in the prescription 
as a distinctive pharmaceutical term, following the genius of the 
language in which it is used : in a Latin prescription, its termina- 
tions might be varied as the construction of that language requires ; 
and in an English prescription, might follow the rules for the con- 
struction of a correct English sentence. We have very many offi- 
cinal names that are as commonly incorporated into our language 
as the English synonyms attached to them, and the objections to 
considering all the names in the American Pharmacopoeia as Ame- 
rican names are, it appears to me, not such as to overrule a custom 
which, on so many accounts, is to be desired. 

The officinal names are spoken of in detail in the chapter on the 
Pharmacopoeia, and the importance of a study of them has been 
elsewhere referred to ; and I repeat, if these were properly mas- 
tered by the student, and invariably used to designate the drugs 
and preparations to which they belong, the garb in which the pre- 
scription is clothed would be comparatively of little importance. 

There are some cases in which the use of an explanatory synonym 
in parentheses seems quite necessary, whether the name be Latinized 
or not ; and in such cases it should never be omitted for the sake 
of elegance or attempted correctness of diction. In prescribing the 
finer kinds of magnesia, there is no other resource than to say in 
parentheses, (Henry's), (Husband's), or (Ellis's), as the case may be. 
Liquor aloet. comp. would be quite indefinite without (Mettauer) 
appended, and tinct. guaiaci comp. would be misunderstood unless 
accompanied by the added (Dewees) to explain it. 

The remarks before made apply to the names of substances de- 
signated in prescriptions; the other parts of the prescription, which 
will be referred to more particularly in the sequel, consist chiefly 
of abbreviations and signs which custom has long sanctioned, and 
which are considered to pertain particularly to the Latin prescrip- 
tion, though, as before stated, occasionally, and without any breach 
of propriety, used in connection with the English. 

In the prescriptions appended to the several chapters which fol- 
low, numerous examples are given of both Latin and English pre- 
scriptions, and they will be appropriately preceded by the following, 
taken from Dr. Pereira's Selecta e Prescript is. 1 

Grammatical Explanation of Prescriptions. 

(1.) R. — Ferri Carbonatis, drachmam cum semisse (3jss). 
(2.1 Rhei pulveris, grana quindecim (gr. xv). 

(3.) Olei Anthemidis, guttas quinque (gtt. v). 

(4.) Conservse Rosas, quantum sufficiat ut fiat massula in pilulas viginti 

dividenda, quarum sumat aager tres octavis horis. 

(1.) Recipe, verb active, imp. mood, 2d pers. sing, agreeing with Tu, under- 
stood; from Recipio, ere, cepi, ceptum, 3d conj. act. Governs an accusa- 
tive. 

1 Republished in this country as the Physician's Prescription Book. 



SYMBOLS OK SIGNS USED IN PRESCRIPTIONS. 415 

Drachmam, noun subst. ace. sing, from Drachma, ce, f. 1st decl. Governed 

by Recipe. 
Cum, preposition. Governing an ablative case. 

Semisse, subst. abl. case, from Semissis, is, f. 3d decl. Governed by cum. 
Carbonatis, subst. gen. sing, from Carbonas, atis, f. 3d decl. Governed by 

Drachmam. 
Ferri, subst. gen. sing, from Ferrum, i, n. 2d decl. Governed by Carbonatis. 

(2.) Recipe, understood. 
Grana, subst. ace. pi. from Granum, i, n. 2d decl. Governed by Recipe, 

understood. 
Quindecim, adj. indeclin. 
Pulveris, subst. gen. sing, from Pulvis, eris, m. 3d decl. Governed by 

Grana. 
Rhei, subst. gen. sing, from Rheum, i, n. 2d decl. Governed by Pulveris. 

(3.) Recipe, understood. 
Guttas, subst. ace. pi. from Gutta, ce, f. 1st decl. Governed by Recipe, un- 
derstood. 
Quinque, adj. indeclin. 

Olei, subst. gen. sing, from Oleum, ei, n. 2d decl. Governed by Guttas. 
Anthemidis, subst. gen. sing, from Anthemis, idis, f. 3d decl. Governed by 
Olei. 

(4.) Recipe, understood. 

Quantum, adverb. Governing the genitive case. 

Sufficiat, verb impers. potent, mood, pres. tense, from Sufficio, ere, feci, 
fectum, neut. and act. 3d conj. 

Conserve, subst. gen. sing, from Conserva, ce, f. 1st decl. Governed by 
Quantum. 

Ros^e, subst. gen. sing, from Rosa, ce, f. 1st decl. Governed by Conservce. 

Ut, conjunct. Governing a subjunct. mood. 

Massula, subst. nom. case, a, ce, f. 1st decl. 

Fiat, verb, subj. mood, pres. tense, 3d person singular, from Fio, jis, f actus 
sum vel fui, fieri, neut. Governed by Ut, and agreeing with its nomi- 
native case Massula. 

Dividenda, particip. nom. case, fem. gend. from Dividendus, a, um (a dividor, 
i, sus, pass. 3d conj •). Agreeing with Massula. 

In, preposition. Governing an accusative case. 

Pilulas, subst. ace. pi. from Pilula, ce, f. 1st decl. Governed by In. 

Viginti, adj. indecl. 

Quarum, relative pronoun, gen. pi. fem. from Qui, quce, quod. Agreeing with 
its antecedent Pilulas in gender and number. Governed in the gen. case 
by Tres. 

Mg-ek, adj. mas. gend. nom. JEger, cegra, cegrum. Agreeing with homo, un- 
derstood. 

Sumat, verb, 3d pers. sing. imp. mood, from Sumo, ere, psi, ptum, act. 3d 
conj. Agreeing with homo, understood ; governing an ace. case. 

Tres, ad. ace. pi. fem. from Tres, tres, tria. Agreeing with Pilulas, under- 
stood, and which is governed by Sumat. 

Horis, subst. abl. plural, from Hora, ce, f. 1st decl. ; signifying part of time, 
and therefore put in the abl. case. 

Octavis, adj. abl. plur. fem. from Octavus, a, um. Agreeing with horis. 

/Symbols or Signs used in Prescriptions. 

Tib. Minim, ^ part of a fluidrachm. 
gtt. Gutta, a drop ; guttas, drops. 

9j. Scrupulus vel scrupulum, a scruple=20 grains. 

3j. drachma, a drachm=60 grains. 
f5j. fluidrachma, a fluid or measured drachm. 



416 ON PRESCRIPTIONS. 

Sj. Uncia, an officinal ounce=480 grains, 
f sj. Fluiduncia, a fluid or measured ounce. 

Bbj. Libra, a pound, understood in prescriptions to apply to an 
officinal pound of 5,760 grains. 

Oj. Octarius, a pint. 

gr. Granum, a grain; plural, grana, grains. 

ss. Semis, half, affixed to signs as above. 
The Latin numerals are employed in prescription — i, ij, iij, iv, v, 
vi, vij, viij, ix, x, xi, xij, xv, xx, XL, L, C, &c. ; and in the directions, 
when written in Latin, a variety of antiquated terms, explained in 
Dr. Pereira's little work before mentioned, but requiring too much 
space for insertion here. 

Before leaving the subject of the signs employed in prescription, 
it seems proper to advert to the errors which frequently occur 
from their careless use, and which have led some practitioners to 
advocate their entire abandonment. They are, however, too well 
established in the actual practice of this country and England, and too 
convenient to be readily supplanted. The angle and curve 3 rnay 
be made so carelessly as to resemble the 9 with a flourish at top, 
and sj may look like a 3j, or may be so completely perverted from 
its recognized shape as to leave the reader in doubt whether a 9 or 
3 is intended. Notwithstanding the apparent absurdity of this, 
there are not a few prescriptions on our files in which the sign 
intended has been reached only by guessing, or by reasoning upon 
the known dose of the drug, rather than upon the shape of the 
sign. A flourishing style of chirography is nowhere less in place 
than on a physician's prescription. The numerals are equally liable 
to error if carelessly made, the difference between j and v, and be- 
tween iv and iij, and between x and v, is often quite obscured by 
a neglect of the plain and necessary precautions of accuracy and 
care. It is not easy to illustrate in print what an examination of 
the chirography of many prescriptions would make apparent, that 
the reading of a prescription frequently requires more skill and 
judgment than compounding it. 

Abbreviations. 

Mistakes not unfrequently arise from unskilful abbreviations, 
for, while there can be no objection to shortening many of the long 
names given to medicines, there is certainly great danger from the 
inordinate and unskilful exercise of this privilege; the word cal. 
is an occasional and very poor abbreviation of hydrargyri chloridi 
mite. Through a careless termination of familiar words, serious 
accidents are liable to occur. Several years have elapsed since I 
received a prescription for hydrate, potassa 3j, to be dissolved in 
water fa iij (dose, a teaspoonful), and it was only through a care 
which has become habitual that I saved a delicate lady in that case 
from taking large doses of hydrate of (caustic) potassa instead of 
hydriodate of potassa. There were no directions for use appended, 



ON THE WRITING OF PRESCRIPTIONS. 417 

so that I had not the advantage they give in cases of doubt. The 
abbreviations allowable in prescriptions might fill some pages if 
tabulated, but it appears to me useless to go into detail on the sub- 
ject, as no practical advantage would result except to the student 
who should make them his especial study, while the habit once 
acquired of writing every word so fully as that it could be mistaken 
for no other, would quite obviate the evils complained of. 



CHAPTER II. 

ON THE WRITING OF PRESCRIPTIONS. 

The first care to observe in writing a prescription, is to have 
suitable paper and pencil, or preferably, pen and ink. The habit of 
some of using the margin of a newspaper, the fly-leaf of a school- 
book, or any piece of flimsy material at hand, for inditing a pre- 
scription, upon which may depend the life of the patient, cannot be 
too strongly condemned. It indicates a want of care in the phy- 
sician, which, if carried into other duties, would quite unfit him 
for the responsibilities of his profession. Many physicians adopt 
the plan of cutting, from time to time, suitable fragments of good 
paper, which are carried in a pocket-book or wallet, and are always 
at hand on emergencies. With a view to economy, the fly-leaves 
of letters, and notices, which would be otherwise wasted, may be 
pressed out, and appropriated to this object. In Philadelphia, and 
probably elsewhere, pharmaceutists are in the habit of printing 
their cards at the head of suitable prescription sheets, and distri- 
buting them among physicians with a view to attracting business to 
their shops; a practice more honored in the breach than in the ob- 
servance. Some physicians print prescription papers, with their 
name and address attached, which, however unprofessional some 
may consider it, is not without one advantage — it enables the 
apothecary always to trace the prescription readily to its source in 
case of difficulty. 

Having the proper prescription paper, the next step is to write 
at the top the name of the patient ; this precaution, which is very 
often neglected, is important for several reasons: 1st. It enables 
the nurse or attendant to distinguish, by a certain and ready 
means, between prescriptions designed for different patients ; and 
the name being transferred to the label, there is no excuse for a 
similar mistake in " administering." 2d. It enables the apothecary, 
in every case, to avoid the mistake so often made in the hurry of 
27 



418 ON THE WRITING OF PRESCRIPTIONS. 

business, of dispensing a package of medicine to one of several cus- 
tomers in waiting which should have been given to another. 3d. It 
facilitates the recognition of the prescription upon the apothecary's 
file when its renewal is called for ; and, finally, it evinces a care 
which is commendable on so important an occasion as prescribing 
for the sick. 

The practice of heading a prescription with the generic name of 
the class of medicines to which it belongs, should be observed when 
there are two or more in use; as the Gargle, the Liniment, or the 
Fever Mixture. Frequently, however, this is superseded by giving 
its designation in the subscription, or by proper directions for its 
use. As a general rule, I would say that all topical remedies 
should be distinctly marked For external use. Some mistakes have 
originated from neglect of this precaution which would be most 
ludicrous if the subject was not often too serious for merriment. 
The administration of an ammoniated liniment, in tablespoonful 
doses, while a cinchona bark mixture is applied over the seat of 
rheumatic pain, is a blunder which has occurred, and may again. 

It is well, in many cases, to copy on the label the entire pre- 
scription. A physician in large practice, unless favored with a 
veiy retentive memory, may forget the details of his prescription 
of the previous day. An aged practitioner of our acquaintance, 
while in practice for the last few years of his life, made this an 
invariable rule, with the view of assisting him in the accurate and 
judicious dispensation of advice from day to day to his patients. 
The same precaution is important also in travelling. It is often 
prudent for the physician to direct the apothecary to mark the 
medicine prescribed Poison, or, as is sometimes done, " Use with 
care;' 1 giving, at the same time, the particular instructions for 
its use. 

The prescription may be divided, for the purpose of study, into 
the following parts, each of which will be separately considered: — 

1. The superscription. 

2. The inscription. 

3. The subscription. 

4. The signature. 

The Superscription is of very little importance ; divested of its 
superstitious origin, it consists of a very short abbreviation of 
the Latin verb Recipe, imperative mood of Recipio, I take, viz : the 
letter U, which is often printed near the top of the prescription 
sheets above mentioned. In French, the letter P is used for Prenez. 
In English formulas, the R may be substituted by Take of. 

The Inscription is the indication, seriatim, of the names and 
quantities of the remedies prescribed. The order in which these 
are written is not a matter of much real importance, as a compe- 
tent pharmaceutist will, in mixing them, depart from the sequence 
observed in the prescription, if thought best ; while the physician, 



APPORTIONING QUANTITIES. 419 

particularly if not experienced in writing prescriptions, will find it 
more convenient to follow the order of their therapeutical im- 
portance rather than the rotation in which they should be added. 

In the sequel I shall refer to the therapeutical classification of 
ingredients, which, in a well contrived prescription, would be writ- 
ten in the following order : — 

1. The basis. 

2. The adjuvant. 

3. The corrective. 

4. The excipient. 

5. The diluent. 

This is not only the most elegant, but the most natural rotation 
to be observed. 

One of the greatest difficulties to the beginner, in connection 
with this subject, is in determining, as the prescription proceeds, 
the appropriate quantity of each ingredient, so as to have each in 
due proportion, and with its right dose ; this becomes easy by the 
employment of the following 

Rule for Apportioning Quantities. — "Write down the names of the 
several ingredients first, without regard to quantity ; then having 
determined upon the quantity of the whole preparation, and the dose to he 
prescribed, the whole number of doses it will contain will be readily cal- 
culated. 

As doses are, at best, only approximate, we may depart from the 
precise figures obtained by dividing the whole number of drachms, 
grains, &c, in the preparation, by the number of doses it will con- 
tain, so as to get even numbers or fractions of a drachm and ounce. 

In directing pills, or powders, we have the means of attaining 
considerable accuracy, and may readily direct a mixture, divided 
into ten,. twenty, or thirty parts, from the very convenient relations 
of these numbers to the drachm and scruple weights ; but it will 
be found more convenient in dispensing and administering the pre- 
parations, to have six, or twelve, or twenty-four parts ordered, as 
these numbers have relation to the number of grooves in the pill 
machine, and to the number of hours in a day. 

The Table below will assist the beginner in prescribing liquids, 
and will serve for reference until he becomes accustomed, practi- 
cally, to this rather difficult part of his duties. Having fixed upon 
the bulk of his mixture or solution, he will remember that there 
are about 

8 wineglassfuls (each containing f^ij) in a pint (Oj, fgxvj). 

30 tablespoonfuls ( " " *a ss ) in a pint (Oj, fgxvj). 

15 tablespoonfuls ( " " f^ss) in half a pint (f^viij). 

12 tablespoonfuls ( " " fgss) in 6 fluidounces (f^vj). 

20 dessertspoonfuls ( " " f gij) in 6 fluidounces (f^vj). 

15 dessertspoonfuls ( " " f^U) in 4 fluidounces (f.^iv). 

30 teaspoonfuls ( " " f^j) in 4 fluidounces (f^iv). 

15 teaspoonfuls ( " " fgj) in 2 fluidounces ( f gij). 

8 teaspoonfuls ( " " f 3j) in 1 fluidounce (f^j). 



420 ON THE WRITING OF PRESCRIPTIONS. 

"We have an illustration of this method of division in the offi- 
cinal liquor morphias sulphatis, in which one grain of the salt is 
dissolved in one fluidounce of water ; as there are 8 teaspoonfuls 
in an ounce, one teaspoonful represents ^ grain, which is about 
the usual dose. In the case of liquids to be given by drops, care 
must be taken to distinguish between aqueous, alcoholic, and oily 
liquids. By reference to the table, given in the chapter on Metrology, 
the relative size of drops pertaining to different liquids will appear; 
in this connection it will be only necessary to refer to that table, 
and to apply the same general mode of calculation to the apportion- 
ment of doses of these. 

One cause of fallacy, with the student, in prescribing by drops, 
arises from confounding the size of drops of one ingredient of a 
preparation with the size of drops of the whole preparation after 
it is made. Thus, if a fluidrachm of tiucture of belladonna were 
added to seven fluidrachms of an aqueous solution of morphia, or 
tartar emetic, we should calculate about 60 drops to each fluidrachm, 
not 120, which would be proper, were the alcoholic liquid in much 
the larger proportion. 

It will aid the student to acquire facility in the apportionment of 
qualities, to inquire of himself, or his companion in study, how 
much of each ingredient is contained in each dose of the various 
compounds for which prescriptions are given. 

The Subscription has reference to the manner of mixing and divid- 
ing the medicine. In Latin prescriptions, it usually consists of short 
abbreviations, or signs, which are familiar to pharmaceutists, though 
in some cases it is written out in full in Latin, and, in others, in 
plain English. The verb misce (imperative mood of misceo, I mix), 
or the letter M n designed to represent it, constitutes the most com- 
mon subscription. Sometimes, where especial skill or care is required 
in the preparation, secundum artem, or S. A. is affixed to it ; when 
omitted, however, this is understood. The verb solve (imperative 
of solvo, I dissolve), is more appropriate where a simple solution is 
prescribed; or macera (imperative of macero), where the process of 
maceration is directed. Where filtration is necessary, write there- 
after et cola. When a medicine is directed in v^ry fine powder, the 
practitioner may make choice of lere lene (triturate well), or fiat 
jiulds subtilissirnus (make a very fine powder). It is, perhaps, an 
improvement on the above to direct more specifically the sort of 
preparation designed ; it gives the pharmaceutist a clue, which is 
sometimes useful to him in compounding, as well as in correcting 
gross error. The following terms, with their proper abbreviations 
and translations, may serve to guide the student in writing his 
subscription. They include the appropriate directions for dividing 
medicines into powders, pills, lozenges, &c, and will close the notice 
of this part of the prescription. 



APPOETIONING QUANTITIES. 421 

Fiat pulvis, Ft. pulv. Make a powder. 

Fiant pulveres xij ; Ft. pulv. xij. ~| 

Fiat pulvis et divide in chartulas xij ; Ft. pulv. et divid. in chart xij. I Make twelve 

Fiat pulvis in chartulas xij, dividenda; Ft. pulv. in ch. xij, div. f powders. 

Fiant chartulas xij ; Ft. chart, xij, divid. J 

Fiat solutio, Ft. solut. Make a solution. 

Fiat injectio, Ft. inject. Make an injection (for urethra). 

Fiat collyrium, Ft. collyr. Make an eye-wash. 

Fiat enema, Ft. enema. Make an injection (for rectum). 

Fiat suppositorium, Ft. supposit. Make a suppository. 

Fiant suppositoria iv ; Ft. suppos. iv. Make 4 suppositories. 

Fiat massa, Ft. massa. Make a mass. 

Fiant pilulae xij ; Ft. pil. xij. _ •) Mak twelye 

Fiat massa in pilulas xij, dividenda; Ft. mas. in pil. xij, div. y .,, 

Fiat massa et divide in pilulas xij ; Ft. mas. div. in pil. xij. J P • 

Fiat infusum, Ft. infus. Make an infusion. 

Fiat haustus, Ft. haust. Make a draught. 

Fiat gargarysma, Ft. garg. Make a gargle. 

Fiat mistura, Ft. mist. Make a mixture. 

Fiat emulsio, Ft. emuls. Make an emulsion. 

Fiat electuarium, Ft. elect. Make an electuary. 

Fiat confectio, Ft. confect. Make a confection. 

Fiat emplastrum 6x4; Ft. emp. 6x4. Make a plaster 6x4. 

Fiat emp. epispasticum, Ft. emp. epispast. "I M k bU 

Fiat emp. vesicatorium, Ft. emp. vesic. / 

Fiat unguentum, Ft. ung. Make an ointment. 

Fiat ceratum, Ft. cerat. Make a cerate. 

Fiat cataplasma, Ft. cataplas. Make a poultice. 

Fiat linimentum, Ft. linim. Make a liniment. 

Fiant trochisci xxiv ; Ft. troch. xxiv. Make 24 lozenges. 

Fiat massa in trochiscos xl, dividenda ; Ft. mas. in troch. xl, div. 

The Signatura is rarely written in Latin, at least in this country. 
It comprises the directions as to the dose and mode of administer- 
ing the medicine, and is especially addressed to the patient, or 
those in attendance upon him. This should be distinctly written 
in the vernacular. None of the reasons for the employment of a 
learned, or technical language, in the other portions of the pre- 
scription, apply to this; on the contrary, a due regard to the avoid- 
ance of mistakes by the apothecary, and by the patient or his 
attendant, forbids it. It is very common to omit this part of the 
prescription entirely, and to depend upon a verbal direction as to 
the use to be made of the medicine. Sometimes two boxes of pills 
are ordered for the same patient simultaneously, or at short inter- 
vals, without any reliable means of distinguishing them, and when 
they are to be renewed, the apothecary may confound them, in 
consequence of the patient sending the wrong box, or through a 
slight error in his own labelling. Of 500 prescriptions taken in- 
discriminately from the files of three different shops, I find 43 per 
cent, have no definite directions, as shown in the table on p. 410, 
and a considerable proportion have no signatura. The practice of 
writing — "To be used as directed" — is equivalent to omitting this 
part of the prescription, and in labelling, this is adopted by the 
apothecary in all cases, where the physician has omitted giving 
any directions. 

As an example of the results which may follow from this kind 



422 ON THE WRITING OF PRESCRIPTIONS. 

of direction, the following incident has been related by a profes- 
sional friend. Two vials were in the chamber of a patient, each 
containing a fluidounce of liquid, and each about the same size ; 
one contained sweet spirit of nitre, and the other blistering collo- 
dion. The nitre was to be given in teaspoonful doses occasionally, 
and the blistering liquid was of course to be applied externally. 
At twilight, the nurse, not noticing the difference in the color, and 
consistency of the liquids, and finding them both labelled alike, 
put in the patient's mouth what she should have applied to her 
chest, thus producing a most distressing inflammation, which de- 
prived the poor patient of her proper food, and doubtless contri- 
buted to exhaust her struggling vitality. 

The danger of this kind of mistake is lessened by using for any 
two prescriptions of very different properties, different kinds of 
vials; thus for a preparation to be taken internally, a fluted flint 
vial, and for a liniment, one of the plain German flints, or better 
still, in the one case a round, and in the other an oval vial. 

The only remaining part of the prescription to be mentioned, is 
the addition' to the foregoing of the name or initials of the writer, 
and the date; of these, it may be remarked, that the name in full 
is on every account preferable. In a large city, where there are 
hundreds of physicians, it is impossible for pharmaceutists, and 
much less their clerks and assistants, to become familiar with the 
handwriting and initials of all of them, to say nothing of those in- 
stances in which two or more have the same initials. Now if this 
practice of signing prescriptions has any utility at all, it must be, 
that it should be understood by the apothecary, so that if he sus- 
pects an error, or requires any explanations, he may make the 
necessary inquiries to correct it, without interrogating his cus- 
tomer and exciting alarm. Besides, there are some dangerous sub- 
stances, especially such as are used for criminal purposes, that the 
druggist is only justified in vending by the sanction of a respon- 
sible name, and this name should therefore, be clearly and intelli- 
gibly written. 

The date of the prescription is almost universally written in 
numerals, at least in Philadelphia; this fashion is probably owing, 
mainly, to a large number of the most eminent practitioners of the 
last generation being members of the Society of Friends, and to 
the wide diffusion of the peculiarities of this sect in the " Quaker 
Cit}V and from it, as the centre of medical instruction to other 
localities. 

When the patient is in moderate circumstances, the physician 
indicates that fact to the apothecary by the letter P, in one of the 
lower corners of the paper. If very poor, P P is written ; from a 
conscientious apothecary, either of these marks secures a reason- 
able reduction in the price charged, and its omission by the phy- 
sician leads to suspicions that the patient is not deserving of 
charity. 



ART OF SELECTING AND COMBINING MEDICINES. 423 



CHAPTER III. 

ON THE ART OF SELECTING AND COMBINING MEDICINES. 

The study of Materia Medica and Therapeutics is designed to 
acquaint the student with the uses and powers of remedies, and to 
prepare him to make a proper selection from these to meet the 
ever varying phases of disease. 

The importance of this kind of knowledge cannot be appreciated 
until the actual emergencies of practice arise, and the necessity be- 
comes apparent of an extended and a thorough knowledge of the 
weapons for combating disease. 

A full and recent treatise on Materia Medica should always be 
within reach of the physician, and one or more of the best medical 
journals should replenish his library with the most recent disco- 
veries and improvements; nowhere can a professional man less 
afford to economize than in his books. 

In this age of active inquiry and unceasing investigation, a very 
few years suffice to produce important changes, both in the theory 
and practice of medicine; and the physician who stands still while 
progress is all around him, can expect no better fate than that of 
the mechanic, the farmer, or the man of business, who is content 
with the appliances of the past age in endeavoring to compete with 
those possessed of the facilities of the present. 

While a sound conservatism, a becoming deference to those who 
have gone before us, and to the great medical authorities in our 
own time, should prevent a hasty departure from established prin- 
ciples or mode of treatment, there is a wide and profitable range 
for experiment in the vast extent and variety of the materia 
medica, and the combinations of which individual remedies are sus- 
ceptible. 

It cannot be denied, that many skilful physicians employ a very 
restricted materia medica; there are hundreds in the United States 
who carry about with them all the weapons they use for combat- 
ing the usual forms of disease, in some twenty or thirty vials, 
inclosed in a pair of saddle-bags ; while, for unusual cases, they 
keep perhaps as many more on their office shelves. Though the 
frequent success of such cannot be questioned, we can draw no in- 
ferences from this fact to disparage the employment of an extended 
and varied assortment of remedies. 

To what purpose has the bounty of nature spread everywhere 



424 ART OF SELECTING AND COMBINING MEDICINES. 

plants of such varied and unsuspected properties ; and why is art 
from the exhaustless mine of nature ever turning up some new 
product, endowed with varied and perhaps health-restoring powers, 
if the physician into whose special keeping the business of testing 
their virtues is given, neglects the injunction "prove all things; 
hold fast that which is good." 

In the foregoing remarks, I would not be understood as counte- 
nancing a departure from the usual materia medica, except where 
called for by the requirements of practice, and justified by sound 
discretion; and much less would I encourage any of those innova- 
tions upon well established principles, which have taken shape in 
the various Pathies, now so prevalent and so lamentably deficient 
in the indispensable elements of common sense and common 
honesty. 

In the selection of medicines, then, let the physician have before 
him the whole known materia medica, with a complete knowledge 
of which he should be equipped from the start. Let him first 
select an individual from its class, with a view to all its properties, 
as likely to effect the immediate symptoms he is combating, and 
the general result of the case; and second, let him select the best 
preparation of it with reference to efficiency, to safety, to physical 
properties, and to all other circumstances. When there is a single 
medicine, which will fully meet the indication, there is no use of 
mixing it with others, except so far as its preparation in eligible 
form requires, a subject treated of in the sequel; when there is an 
officinal preparation, whether simple or compound, which is adapted 
to the case, it is generally better to prescribe it by its officinal 
name, than to attempt a similar original combination; thus pilulce 
cathurticce composite are found to answer a common indication in dis- 
ease so very frequently, that they have almost superseded extempo- 
raneous preparations of the same, or nearly the same ingredients : 
this is the case, though to a less extent, of other officinal formulae. 
A common exception is furnished in pilulce quinice sulphalis, which 
are frequently prescribed extemporaneously, in proportions slightly 
varying from the officinal, in order to secure their being freshly 
prepared. 

Officinal preparations are best selected in emergencies, since they 
are ready without the delay of compounding them, while most 
forms of extemporaneous prescription require considerable time 
for their preparation. Physicians should be somewhat influenced 
by economical motives, in prescribing for persons of moderate 
means. Preparations which are kept on hand by the apothecary, 
are cheaper than those which are mixed extemporaneously. In 
almost every class of medicines, there are those which are very 
costly ; and it is well when they can be substituted by others in 
prescribing for the poor. Many practitioners are in the habit of 
directing for such, the sulphates of cinchonia and quinidia, instead 



THE ART OF COMBINING MEDICINES. 425 

of that of quinia; a plan much resorted to by those residing in 
remote situations, who have to act as their own apothecaries. 

On the Art of Combining Medicines. 

Simplicity is an object not to be overlooked in prescribing, not- 
withstanding the advantage obtained by combining, in a single prepa- 
ration, the virtues of several medicines; there is, I think, more danger 
of the inexperienced attempting complications, not sanctioned by 
sound science, than of his erring on the side of simplicity. 

In the remarks which follow, I shall endeavor to treat methodi- 
cally, and as briefly as possible, the several advantages to be attained 
by medicinal combinations, and the means by which they may be 
most readily and safely fulfilled ; and in the series of Prescriptions 
appended, shall seek further to illustrate the subject. 

In compound prescriptions, we usually recognize one ingredient 
selected from the materia medica as the most important in a thera- 
peutical point of view. This is designated as the basis. Sometimes 
two or three remedies may be combined to form the basis, but if 
they have different therapeutical effects, they are considered as ad- 
juvants, correctives, &c. 

Although this classification of ingredients is not absolute, it 
seems to facilitate the study of the subject, and we proceed to notice 

1st. The objects to be attained by adding to the basis. 

a. Dilution. 

A great many of the remedies are too strong to be eligible for 
use without the addition of some menstruum, so as to increase the 
dose and to allow of a more ready division. In giving calomel, in 
very small alterative doses, it is impossible to apportion it properly 
without dilution with some suitable substance, such as sugar, as in 
Prescription No. 54. In using small doses of tartar emetic, sulphate 
of morphia, or other soluble salts, in the liquid form, it is usual to 
dilute them with water. In the case of concentrated liquid prepa- 
rations, as tinctures of aconite root, nux vomica, &c, a less active 
liquid should generally be added, so as to bring the strength of the 
preparation to a less dangerous point, especially when prescribed 
for ignorant or careless persons. 

The simple act of dilution may then be regarded as the first, 
though one of the least important objects in view, in adding to the 
basis or starting point of the prescription, and the substance so em- 
ployed, if simply for this end, may be called the diluent. Many 
prescriptions consist merely of the basis and diluent. 

b. To Heighten, or give Direction to the Effects of the Basis. 

It was formerly considered that substances of similar thera- 
peutical powers were mutually increased in energy by admixture. 



426 ART OF SELECTING AND COMBINING MEDICINES. 

This idea is now generally abandoned, except in so far as the powers 
of medicines may be heightened by combining them with others 
capable of rendering the system more susceptible to their action, 
or of giving them specific direction ; thus, aromatic stimulants 
greatly heighten the effects of tonics, and will be found generally 
combined with them in tonic preparations. (See Tonic Tinctures and 
Prescriptions Nos. 6, 11, 16, and 20.) So rhubarb, by its astringency, 
modifies the effects of other cathartics, as in Warner's Cordial. We 
have a further illustration of this in the use of tartar emetic, to 
give a sedative and diaphoretic direction to saline remedies, as in 
Prescription No. 85 ; and of Dover's Powder, to render ext. of col- 
chicum more sedative, as in Prescription No. 28. 

Not to multiply illustrations, many of which will naturally occur 
to the student, it requires to be mentioned that, in some cases, this 
adjuvant may be best given at a different time from the basis, or 
rather, that the two may be most profitably separated. Thus, it is 
customar}^ to purge a patient affected with intermittent before giving 
quinia; but few practitioners would, unless in unusual cases, com- 
bine the cathartic with the tonic dose. 

There are sometimes ingredients in a prescription which may be 
considered either in the light of adjuvants or of vehicles. Thus 
sulphuric acid in quinia solutions both adds to the effect, as is com- 
monly considered, and affords a means of solution. So extracts, 
combined with other remedies, may heighten their action, while 
affording a convenient vehicle for making them into a pilular mass. 
The adjuvant is, however, rarely introduced, practitioners generally 
relying upon the independent action of one agent, modified, if re- 
quired, by another, which is used for the next object. 

c. To Correct some objectionable Property in one or both of the other 
Active Ingredients. 

The instances in which this motive for adding to the basis is 
called into play, are so numerous that it will scarcely be necessary 
to illustrate, further than to refer to the numerous prescriptions 
which follow. The combination of opium with calomel, in dysen- 
tery, is one of the strongest cases in point. The mercurial is, by 
this means, made to act as a corrective, in conditions of the system 
in which, if employed singly in the same dose, might aggravate 
the symptoms. Certain effects of opium, as a basis, are obviated 
by many additions. Thus compound spirit of ether is said to di- 
minish its nauseating effect on the stomach, &c. 

In administering oil of turpentine, or wormseed oil, as a vermi- 
fuge, some corrective is needed which will insure a purgative effect, 
and prevent its undue absorption. 

In the same way oil of turpentine and laudanum are used as 
correctives to castor oil, diminishing its purgative effects, and pre- 
venting griping. 



THE AET OF COMBINING MEDICINES. 427 

In prescribing senna, the custom is almost universal of adding 
some aromatic seed to the infusion, to prevent griping. In Pre- 
scriptions No. 35, No. 40, No. 65, we have especial instances of the 
value of correctives. 

We may frequently make one substance answer the double pur- 
pose of a corrective, and diluent or vehicle. In this connection we 
find the medicated waters useful for liquid preparations ; soap for 
pills ; aromatics for powders ; certain stimulating oils in ointments, 
liniments, &c. 

It will be observed that the corrective may be either therapeuti- 
cal or chemical in its operation, or both. While the effect of adding 
essential oils or opiates to cathartics, is purely therapeutical, that of 
combining soap with resins, to correct insolubility, is chemical or 
pharmaceutical. So, in combining mastic, or other very insoluble 
resin with aloes, its insolubility is increased or lengthened — an 
object sometimes of importance, as in Chapman's Dinner Pill. 

d. The Proper Incorporation of the Ingredients together. 

This object is one of paramount importance in the preparation of 
medicines. The excipient added for this purpose may be either 
chemical or mechanical, or both ; it may be connected with the thera- 
peutic plan of the prescription, or may be added solely to make it 
more agreeable to the taste, and more uniform in consistence. This 
ingredient is more important to the physician, from the fact that, 
owing to its therapeutic application, the excipient cannot always be 
left to the choice of the pharmaceutist, whose practical acquaint- 
ance with the subject would otherwise qualify him to select the best 
excipient. The numerous rules that suggest themselves in regard 
to the proper incorporation of ingredients together can be best 
brought into view in connection with the next subject to be 
treated of. 

e. On the Different Forms of Medicines. 

These are of two kinds: those which are adapted to internal, and 
those to external use. Or they may be divided into solid, liquid, 
and semifluid forms ; as they are not very numerous, however, and 
neither classification of them is very important, I shall treat of them 
in the order which experience has shown to be most convenient to 
the student. 



428 ON POWDERS AND PILLS. 



CHAPTER IV. 

OX POWDERS AND PILLS. 

Pulveres. (Powders.) 

In the chapter on Drying and Powdering Drugs, &c, some general 
views are given on the utility of this form of preparation, but it 
yet remains to point out in a particular manner the uses of pow- 
ders in extemporaneous prescribing. 

1. The land of Substances best adcqrted to this Form of Prescription. 

a. Those medicines which are insoluble; as calomel, phosphate of 

lime, subnitrate of bismuth, subcarbonate of iron, magnesia, 
&c. 

b. Drugs possessing, in the natural condition, peculiar properties, 

differing from those which are artificially prepared from them; 
as cinchona, colomba, digitalis, &c. 

c. Those which, in solution, would possess more nauseous or bitter 

properties than in their undissolved, finely-divided condition; 
as sulphate of quinia, kino, catechu, &c. They are, for the 
most part, best suited for making into pills. 

d. Those which, combined in a liquid form, would be chemically 

incompatible. 

e. The extracts and blue mass, when dry enough to be reduced to 

powder. 

2. The kind of Substances unsuited to this Form. 

a. Deliquescent substances ; as carb. potassa, unless with special 

precautions. 

b. Substances containing a large amount of water of crystalliza- 

tion (unless dried); as carbonate of soda. 

c. Substances, the active principles of which are very volatile ; as 

valerian and assafetida. 

d. Substances physically unsuited to mechanical division ; as cam- 

phor and guaiacum, unless with certain precautions. 

e. Blue mass, and the extracts in their usual condition, although 

the former and some of the latter are very convenient in the 
form of powder. 



ON POWDERS AND PILLS. 429 

Powders may be prescribed in the form of mixture or draught, 
always directing the bottle to be shaken before pouring out the 
dose; or in pill, if their dose is small. They may be prescribed in 
papers (chartulas), each containing a dose, or in a single large pack- 
age, the dose being indicated in the directions by some familiar 
standard of measurement. 

These last are the only forms of prescription coming under the 
present head. Mixtures, pills, &c, will be considered in their appro- 
priate places. Soluble substances, prescribed in powder, may be 
directed to be dissolved in water, and the solution taken by small 
doses, so as to save expense to the patient, or to have the medicine 
in a more portable form, as in travelling. This, however, is a 
rather inaccurate way. Seidlitz, soda, and citric fever powders are 
elegant forms for giving single doses of soluble salts. 

When the dose of an insoluble powder is large, as in the case of 
magnesia or of phosphate of lime, and it is to be mixed by the 
patient or attendant, it is well to direct the particular mode of sus- 
pending it in water. The directions for magnesia are as follows : — 

Put the requisite quantity of clear and cold water (not too much) 
in a clean glass, and drop into it from the blade of a knife or spoon, 
the required dose ; allow it gradually to mix with the water and 
subside, after which stir it up and drink immediately. This will 
be found a more satisfactory way than to pour the water upon the 
dry powder in the bottom of the glass. 

Powders which are viscid and slightly soluble, are, I think, gene- 
rally more disagreeable than those which are not. Rhubarb is much 
less pleasant to take in fine powder than when chipped into very 
small shavings or grated, and swallowed suspended through a glass 
of water. Some viscid vehicle seems quite necessary to heavy 
powders like calomel, or mercury with chalk ; by sinking to the 
bottom of the spoon from which administered, these are liable to 
miss of being swallowed. With medicines prescribed in the form of 
powders there is no occasion for the use of excipients, as they are 
not, strictly speaking, incorporated together; where the dose is 
small, however, an additional substance may be directed for the 
purposes of dilution, such as sugar, or a mixture of sugar and gum, 
or liquorice, or arrowroot fecula. An illustration of this kind of 
admixture is seen in Prescription ISFo. 54, in which the only utility 
of the sugar is to give body to the otherwise very small bulk of 
the powders ; also in Castillon's Powders, in which an antacid and 
astringent, calculated to act as a remedy for the diseased condition, 
are combined with appropriate nutritious ingredients. In Dover's 
Powder we have an instance of the diluent being made to subserve 
an important mechanical end ; and I am informed by an intelligent 
pharmaceutist that, in his vicinity, physicians combine sugar of 
milk with powders in prescriptions for a like purpose, directing 
long trituration. Calomel is said by this means to acquire in- 
creased efficiency where a rapid constitutional effect is desired ; 



430 ON" POWDERS AND PILLS. 

although the assertions of homoeopathists, in regard to the virtues 
of trituration, are both extravagant and absurd, yet there is little 
doubt that, in a case like that of calomel, long attrition with a 
hard substance, in contact with the atmosphere, is calculated to 
produce chemical, as well as physical changes of importance. 

The use of adjuvants and correctives is appropriate in the case 
of powders, equally with other classes of remedies; and, by re- 
ference to the prescriptions appended, it will be observed that they 
are very commonly added. Prescriptions in the form of powders 
will be associated with those in pilular form in the list which fol- 
lows that class. 

Pilule. 

Pills are the most popular and convenient of all forms of medi- 
cine. In common with powders, they have the advantage of being 
accurately divided, so that the patient is not dependent upon any 
of the uncertain means of approximate measurement necessary in 
administering liquids. They are also more portable. The contact 
is so slight with the organs of taste, in swallowing, that the most 
offensive substances can be swallowed in this form with compara- 
tively little inconvenience. There are, however, a few people who 
cannot swallow them ; this is the case, too, with young children, for 
whom some other form is preferable. 

The size of pills is necessarily limited to from 4 to 5 grains of 
vegetable powders, or 5 to 6 grains of heavy mineral substances, 
including the ezcipienl, though these quantities are larger than usual. 

The land of Substances best adapted to the Pilular Form. 

a. All those suitable to the form of powders, which are given in 

small doses. 

b. The gum resins, balsams, and turpentine. 

c. Substances, the operation of which it is desirable to retard ; as 

in certain aperient and alterative pills. 

d. Insoluble substances, which are too heavy to give conveniently 

suspended in water. 

e. Very disagreeable and fetid substances. 
/. The vegetable extracts. 

The kind of Substances unsuited to the Pilular Form. 

a. Those which operate only in doses too large for 3 or 4 pills. 

b. Deliquescent, or efflorescent salts. 

c. Bodies of such consistence as to require an undue proportion of 

dry or viscid material to make a mass, except such as have a 
very small dose; as croton oil. 

d. Very volatile substances; as carbonate of ammonia, except with 

certain precautions. 



01ST POWDEES AND PILLS. 431 

e. Deliquescent salts, and those containing a large proportion of 
water, unless this be suitably absorbed by associated dry 
powder. 

/. Those which are prescribed for immediate effect; as emetics, 
diffusible stimulants. 

g. Essential oils, in quantity exceeding half a drop to each pill. 

The formation of a pill mass is sometimes a matter of consider- 
able difficulty ; sometimes, from a want of adhesiveness of the in- 
gredients; sometimes from the difficulty of incorporating them 
equally together. Under the head of The Art of Dispensing, I 
shall introduce some hints upon the mode of overcoming difficulties 
of this kind, and for the present shall confine myself to the mode 
of prescribing pills. 

Should the physician indicate the excipient, or leave it optional 
with the apothecary? In answering this, we necessarily bring 
into view the therapeutical relations of this ingredient, and shall 
find that it may be active or inert, according to the choice of the 
prescriber. 

If the basis be a vegetable powder, like rhubarb or aloes, a mass 
can be readily formed by moisture, without the aid of any adhe- 
sive material; if, on the contrary, it be a metallic salt, or an unad- 
hesive vegetable powder, it requires an addition to give it the form 
of a mass; that addition will add somewhat to the bulk of the 
ingredients prescribed, and perhaps, if the dose be large, will make 
the pills too bulky; in this case, it is important that the physician 
should not overlook the excipient, which he may include among 
the medicinal ingredients, or make due allowance for, in appor- 
tioning the quantity to each pill. 

The following rule for prescribing pills will obviate the disad- 
vantage of adding to the size by the use of inert excipients : when 
the basis is an unadhesive material, one of the other medicinal ingre- 
dients should be an extract or a vegetable powder, which will form a 
mass by moisture alone. 

To illustrate this, I would refer to prescriptions No. 12 and ]STo. 
55, in both of which the adjuvant possesses this quality, while in 
a large number of cases, the constituent or vehicle is of little or 
no therapeutic value. 

It will be proper in this connection to run over the several sub- 
stances, added with a view to giving body to pill masses, so as to 
point out the special adaptations of each. 

Soap, which is employed in the officinal pills more than any 
other excipient, is well adapted to combine with resinous sub- 
stances, the solubility of which it increases, while it acts as an 
antacid, and perhaps aperient. It has been suggested, that it is 
incompatible with opium, with which it is prescribed in the offi- 
cinal pil. opii, as the alkali, especially when present in excess, tends 
to separate the morphia from its native combination. Some ex- 



432 ON POWDERS AND PILLS. 

periments made by my assistant, Thomas Weaver, confirm this 
idea. 

Syrup is often used as an excipient, which adds but little to the 
bulk of a pill mass, and is effectual in some cases, where water 
alone would not give the requisite tenacity; it does not answer a 
good purpose, however, with certain metallic salts, which dispose 
the mass to crumble. 

Honey and molasses, forms of uncrystallizable sugar, are better 
adapted to the general purposes of pill making. Masses made 
with these are not so liable to crumble, and possess the great ad- 
vantage of remaining moist and soluble for a longer period. On 
account of the last-named property, honey has been substituted for 
syrup in the officinal recipe for sulphate of quinia pills, in the last 
edition of the Pharmacopoeia. 

Gum Arabic is directed to be added, where the requisite adhe- 
siveness will not result from the use of syrup or honey alone; it 
is not a very good excipient, either added in the form of powder, 
or of a thick mucilage. Pills made with gum are apt to be very 
hard. Tragacanth forms a less hard and insoluble mass than 
acacia. The officinal syrup of gum Arabic is made with a special 
view to this use. 

Alcohol and essential oils, by softening down resinous substances, 
facilitate their incorporation together in mass, and, being held by 
these with considerable tenacity, prevent their rapidly becoming 
too hard. Oil of turpentine is well adapted to softening white 
turpentine, so as to incorporate it with other ingredients, as in 
Otto's emmenagogue pills. These excipients must be added with 
care, or they will render the mass quite too soft. 

An important use of essential oils in pills, is to prevent moodi- 
ness, and the disagreeable odor which vegetable powders acquire 
when moistened; they should be added in very small proportion 
for this purpose, as they rather interfere with than promote the 
adhesiveness of the mass. 

Crumb of bread furnishes a convenient, and when not too dry, a 
very tenacious vehicle for substances given in small dose, and 
which require diluting, rather than combining in a small bulk. 

Confection of rose is adapted to similar uses, though more moist 
and less tough in consistence. When made from the rosa gallica, 
it is astringent, and adapted to combining certain vegetable pow- 
ders belonging to that class; as usually met with, it contains no 
tannin, being made from our common varieties of rose. Confection 
of orange-peel, and aromatic confection, are adapted to similar 
uses. 

The Officinal Pill Masses. — These may be described in this place 
as preparations well adapted to use as excipients, though very 
frequently prescribed singly. 



ON POWDERED BLUE MASS. 433 

Pilulce Hydrargyria U. S. 

This is the officinal designation of the preparation commonly 
called blue pill, and directed in the Pharmacopoeia to be divided 
into pills of three grains each; as usually kept by physicians and 
druggists in an undivided state, it is more appropriately called 
massa hydrargyri, mercurial mass. It is usually prepared by drug 
millers and chemical manufacturers, by triturating together in 
appropriate mechanical contrivances, mercury, conserve of rose, 
liquorice root in powder, and some rather moist viscid material, as 
powdered althea root, in such proportion that three parts by weight 
of the mass shall contain one of mercury, thoroughly divided, and 
partially oxidized. 

To my young friend and assistant, Thomas Weaver, the reader 
is indebted for the suggestion of the following good extempora- 
neous process for the preparation of this heretofore troublesome 
mass. It is adapted equally to producing a soft or a pulverulent 
article, and is so rapid and easy as to supersede the necessity for 
the use of machinery for small quantities. Its importance as a 
practical improvement will be appreciated by those who have 
attempted to prepare blue mass with a pestle and mortar by the 
officinal process, and by such as have been disappointed in the 
quality of the manufactured article as met with in commerce. 

To make three ounces of Blue Mass Extemporaneously by a few minuted 
Trituration. 

Take of Mercury lj. 

Powdered liquorice root .... Iss. 

" rose leaves .... 3vj. 

• Honey 3vj. 

Triturate the honey, liquorice root, and mercury, rapidly toge- 
ther for three minutes, or until all the globules of mercury disap- 
pear, then add the rose leaves, and work the whole into a uniform 
mass; if it is too stiff, moisten with a little water. According to 
James Beatson, late apothecary to the U. S. Naval Hospital, at 
New York, the same object may be accomplished by triturating the 
mercury with the honey, until the former is completely extin- 
guished; then adding rose-water, powdered rose leaves, powdered 
liquorice root, and sugar, to make up the requisite proportion. 



To malce Powdered Blue Mass. 



Take of Mercury 



Powdered liquorice root . 

" rose leaves 
Simple syrup (by weight) 



3ss. 
5vj. 
3*j- 



Triturate the mercury, half of the powdered liquorice root, and 
28 



434 ON POWDERS AND PILLS. 

the simple syrup rapidly together for three minutes, or until the 
globules disappear, and then incorporate the powdered rose leaves, 
and the remainder of the powdered liquorice root, and spread the 
whole out to dry in a warm place. Eeduce this to powder. 

Blue mass is, perhaps, the most popular, as it is the mildest form 
of mercurial preparation ; it is well adapted to use in pill or powder, 
either combined, as in several prescriptions which follow, or singly, 
in doses of from one to ten grains. 

Blue mass, when designed to act on the liver without producing a 
cathartic effect, may be combined with opium or a pure astringent. 
It is more frequently, however, combined with cathartics, to increase 
its tendency to operate on the bowels. Perhaps a majority of the 
mild cathartic pills, prescribed by practitioners and those sold as 
universal remedies, contain this useful ingredient; and, in fact, blue 
pills are very commonly known and taken by those who prescribe 
for themselves, for what is popularly known as "biliousness," and 
various forms of liver complaint. 

I have recently prepared, by the modified process above, and 
from specimens which have been dried at a moderate heat, a very 
convenient powder of blue mass, which is well suited for conver- 
sion into the pilular form, and into that of compound powder. 

Blue mass was formerly much adulterated, but is now supplied 
to the trade of reliable quality by several first-rate manufacturers. 

Pilulce Ferri Carlonatis, U.S. 

Valletta's Mass is a very mild and soluble preparation of iron, 
made by incorporating freshly precipitated protocarbonate of iron 
with honey, or a mixture of honey and gum tragacanth, or some 
similar saccharine vehicle which experience has taught the manu- 
facturer to prefer, and by evaporation concentrating into a solid 
pilular mass. This may be taken by itself, in a dose of from ten 
to thirty grains, or may be used as an adjuvant or vehicle to other 
medicinal substances, particularly dry powders, as in those numer- 
ous cases where iron, in small doses, is indicated along with bitter 
tonics. 

Pilulce Copaiba, U.S. 

Copaiba mass, although seldom employed as a vehicle, is not un- 
suited to this use ; it is directed to be made by incorporating one 
drachm of calcined magnesia with two ounces of copaiva, a recipe 
which it is very difficult to follow, so as to get a solid mass. The 
copaiva must be thick and resinoid, and the magnesia recently cal- 
cined, or the required thickening will not occur. The introduction 
of wax, in considerable quantity, to give it consistence, should not 
be allowed. Its dose is from 5 to 10 grains. 



MEDICINES ADAPTED TO THE FORI OF POWDER. 435 



The Extracts. 

This class, which is much the best adapted to the pilular form, 
should not be overlooked, in prescribing several ingredients. 
Some one extract can usually be selected which will meet a thera- 
peutical indication, while it serves the purpose of an excipient. 

Thus, in sedative or narcotic pills, we have the choice of five or 
six extracts to incorporate with any unadhesive or other material, 
so as to gain efficiency without too large a bulk. 

In directing a tonic remedy in this form, extract of gentian, 
quassia, cinchona, or nux vomica will come in play. While, as a 
vehicle, for the mercurials in cutaneous or syphilitic diseases, ex- 
tract of conium, or of sarsaparilla, may be used. The use of the 
cathartic extracts, and of extract of taraxacum for similar purposes, 
is too common to need comment. We also have an illustration of 
an elegant and efficient compound, made on this principle, in the 
so-called Dr. Vance's Gout Pills (Prescription No. 28). 

The following Tables show, in a general way, the classes of drugs 
adapted to the form of powder and pill. 



Medicines adapted to the Form of Powder. 

INSOLUBLE MINERAL SUBSTANCES, VEGETABLE PRODUCTS AND SOME SOLUBLE 
SUBSTANCES. 



r - \ 


INSOLUBLE : TOO LARGE DOSES FOR 


IN CERTAIN COMBINATIONS, AND WHEN 


PILLS. 


PILLS ARE OBJECTED TO. 


Carbo. ligni. 


Powd. pil. hydrarg. 


Magnesia. 


" ext. coloc. 


Calcis phosph. 


" opium. 


Pot. bitart. 


" digitalis. 


Sulphur sub. 


" nux vom. 


Greta ppt. 


" kino. 


Ferri subcai-b. 


" acid, tannic. 


Calomel, and others. 


" " gallic. 


Vegetable Powders : — 


" potas. nit. 


Powd. cinchona. 


Opium alkaloids. 


" colomba. 


Cinchona " 


" gentian. 


Subnit. bismuth, 


" rhubarb (coarse). 


and many others. 


" Jalap. 




" cubebs, 




and others. 




Diluents for Substances prescribed in Form of Powders. 


Sugar. Aromat. powd. 


Lactin. P. Ext. liquorice. 


Powd. acacia. P. Tragacanth. 


" cinnam. P. Elm Bark. 


and others. 





436 



ON POWDERS AND PILLS. 



Medicines adapted to Pilular Form. 

POWDERS GIVEN IN LESS THAN GR. XV DOSES, GUM RESINS, EXTRACTS; ALSO OLEO- 
RESINS AND OILS IN SMALL PROPORTION. 



\ 


UNADHESIVE MATERIALS. 


GOOD MEDICINAL EXCIPIENTS. 


Calomel. 


Extracta. 


Dover's powd. 


Pil. hydrarg. 


Subnit. bismuth. 


" copaibse. 


Morphiae, acetas, &c. 


" ferri carb. 


Strychnia. 


Terebinthina. 


Pulv. digitalis. 


With Moisture: — 


" ipecac. 


Powd. aloes. 


Plumbi acetas. 


" rheum. 


Ant. et pot. tart. 


" kino. 


" sulphuret. 


" tannin. 


Argenti nitras. 


" opium. 


Argenti oxidum. 


" scilla. 


Ferri pulvis. 


S. bebeerina. 


" subcarb. 


Ferri citras. 


" (other salts). 


Assafoetida, and others. 


Potass, iodid. 


With Alcohol :— 


Camphor, and others. 


Guaiacum, and others. 


Difficult to combine, except by Peculiar 


With DO, S0 3 :— 


Treatment : — 


Quinioe sulph. 


01. tiglii. 


Cinchoniae sulph. 


" terebinth. 


Quinidiae sulph. 


Ferri iodidum. 


Quinoidine. 


Copaiba, and others. 




Inert Excipients. 




MUCILAGES. 


Powd. acacia. 


Syrup of gum. 


" tragacanth. 


Honey. 


Soap. 


Treacle. 


Crumb of bread. 


Syrups. 


Confections. 





In the following officinal and extemporaneous prescriptions, some 
of which are extracted from standard works, others from the ex- 
tensive files of the dispensing establishment over which I preside, 
and a few which I venture to offer for trial, I have endeavored to 
point out the most approved methods of compounding medicines 
in the form of powders and pills. 

Examples of Extemporaneous Prescriptions in the form, of Powders and 
Pills, including those in the Pharmacopoeia under the heads Put- 
veres and Piluloz. 



No. 1. 

Take of Alum 
Kino 



Astringents. 
Used in Obstinate Diarrhoea. 

• • • 5ij 

3ss 



1 powder. 
20 grs. 

5 OTS. 



ASTRINGENTS. 437 

Mis and reduce to a very fine powder, and distribute this into 6 
papers. Dose, one every 2 or 3 hours. 

The alum and kino are incompatible in liquid form, and hence, 
when associated together, should always be prescribed in powder. 
The dose is too large for the pilular form. 

No. 2. — Adapted to substitute many Simple Vegetable Astringents. 

Each. 

Take of Tannic acid . . gr. xij 1 grain. 

Confection of rose . gr. vj J grain. 

Make a mass and divide into 12 pills. Dose, one every two 
hours. 

The above may be made into powders by substituting an 
aromatic, astringent, or inert powder for the confection. 

No. 3. — Used in Diarrhoea. 







Each. 


Take of Tannic acid 


• 9j 


2 grs. 


Acetate of morphia . 


gr. j 


to gr- 


Sugar 


gr. x 


1 gr. 


Oil of caraway . 


«lj 


trace. 



Triturate together, and distribute into ten papers. Dose, one 
every 3 hours. 

Five grains of opium may be substituted for the morphia salt, 
or by the substitution of sufficient syrup for the sugar, the whole 
may be made into the pilular form. 



No. 4. — Chalk Powders. 






Each. 


Take of Prepared chalk . . 3ij 
Gum Arabic, in powder . 
Sugar, each . . . . 5j 
Powdered cinnamon . gr. x 


15 grs. 
7| grs. 
7| grs. 
1J grs. 



Triturate together into a uniform powder, and divide into 8 
doses. 

Chalk mixture, No. 61, spoils by keeping in hot weather, and is, 
moreover, much more bulky than an equal quantity of the ingre- 
dients in the above form, which is especially convenient for travel- 
lers. Opium, kino, or other remedies adapted to increase or 
modify its action, may be added in powder, as their Galenical solu- 
tions are to the mixture. One of the very best additions for a 
common form of diarrhoea is that of powdered blue mass, of which 
gr. xvj to 5ss may be added to the above. 



438 ON POWDERS AND PILLS. 

No. 5. — For the Diarrhoea of Young Children. 



Take of Acetate of lead 
Opium 
Camphor . 
Sugar 



Each. 
i 



gr. ss *fa 

g r -j A 

gr- "J i 

Dose, one every 2 or 3 



Triturate, and divide into 12 papers, 
hours. 

The child should be kept quiet, and fed upon arrowroot, flour 
boiled in milk, or a mixture of barley-water and cream. 

For adults, the whole quantity prescribed may be taken at one 
dose. 

Tonics and Aromatics. 

No. 6. — Anti- Intermittent Powders. 

Each. 
Take of Powdered cinchona . . .=jj 5j« 

" serpentaria . 5\j gr. XV. 

Sulphate of quinia . . gr. viij gr. j. 

Mix, and distribute into eight papers. Dose, one every hour, 
commencing eight hours before the expected paroxysm. 

The sulphate of quinia is often omitted, but increases the effi- 
ciency of the powder, especially when the bark is not of the finest 
quality. The serpentaria is often substituted by more powerful 
stimulants, as cloves, or capsicum, or oil of black pepper ; and 



No. 7. — Pilulce Quinioz Sutyhatis, U. S. 

Reduced. Each. 

Take of Sulphate of quinia . . %} 9ij 1 gr. 

Powdered gum Arabic . 5ij gr. x \ gr. 

Honey . . . . q. s. q. s. 

Make a mass, and divide into 480 pills (reduced quantity, 40), 
of which the dose in intermittents is one every hour, between the 
paroxysms. 

These officinal pills are less used than formerly, as it is now 
customary to give larger doses, and less frequently, and they are 
found less convenient than pills or powders, of three, four, or five 
grains each. 

Sulphate of quinine may be made into pills by the following 
process, which has been called Parrish's. (See paper by the author, 
in the American Journal of Pharmacy, vol. xxv. p. 291.) 



TONICS AND AROMATICS. 439 

No. 8. — Pills of the Soluble Sulphate of Quinia. 

Each. 

Take of Sulphate of quinia . . 9j gr. v. 

Aromatic sulphuric acid . fifteen drops ^ iv. 

Drop the acid upon the sulphate on a tile or slab, and triturate 
with a spatula, until it thickens and assumes a pilular consistence, 
then divide into four pills. 

The five grain quinine pill made in this way, is not larger than 
many pills in common use, so that by this process they may be 
made of two, three, four, or five grains. 

The large number of combinations in which sulphate of quinia 
is associated with other remedies cannot be here noticed ; to some 
of these the elixir of vitriol process is well adapted as in combining 
the other alkaloids with it ; in other cases it is inadmissible. If an 
extract in small quantity, or a vegetable powder is to be added to 
the mass, it should be incorporated with the quinia salt, when by 
trituration on the slab it begins to thicken into a paste. 

Persons not accustomed to making quinine pills by this process, 
sometimes allow the sulphate to become too dry and unadhesive 
to mould into pills. This is from not seizing the proper moment 
just as the mass has ceased to be too soft, and before it becomes 
dry ; it is then quite plastic, and becomes particularly so by con- 
tact with the warmth and moisture of the thumb and fingers. A 
drop of syrup or honey, which should always be at hand on the 
counter, by being added at the proper moment will prevent this 
hardening. 

No. 9. — Pills of Sulphate of Cinchonia. 

Each. 

Take of Sulphate of cinchonia . . 9j gr. j. 

Powdered tragacanth . . gr. ij gr. T ^. 

Triturate together, and add sufficient water to make a mass, 
which divide into twenty pills; these pills are esteemed about equal 
to those of sulphate of quinia. 

No. 10. — Pills of Sulphate of Quinidia. (Quinidina.) 

Each. 

Take of Sulphate of quinidia 9j • gr. j. 

Powdered tragacanth . . gr. ij gr. T ^. 

Triturate together, and add water sufficient to make a mass, 
which divide into twenty pills. These are esteemed about equal 
to sulphate of quinia pills of the same proportion. 

The use of tragacanth instead of gum Arabic would be an im- 



440 ON POWDERS AND PILLS. 

provement in the officinal sulphate of quinia pills ; it diminishes the 
size, and keeps them longer moist and soluble. 

I have experimented with sulphate of cinchonia and sulphate 
of quinidia with reference to the formation of pill masses with 
elixir of vitriol, and find that sulphate of cinchonia requires one 
drop to three grains, and sulphate of quinidia three drops to two 
grains. They thicken into a firm mass with less facility than the 
quinine salt, and in fact require sometimes an hour or two to be- 
come firm enough to roll out; this is remedied by adding a little of 
some vegetable powder, as gum Arabic or starch, which, however, 
increases the bulk. 

Practitioners are increasingly disposed to examine the relative 
merits of the cinchona alkaloids as antiperiodics. In the Pennsyl- 
vania Hospital, and other of our large charities, the experience of 
the medical staff has been thus far favorable to substituting for the 
more expensive sulphate of quinia, sulphate of cinchonia, and sul- 
phate of quinidia in the same dose. See Cinchona Alkaloids. 

Combinations of salts of quinia and iron are much resorted to in 
ansemia accompanied by want of appetite; of these, two instances 
are given below. 

No. 11. — Poicders of Iron and Quinia. 

Each. 

Take of Subcarbonate of iron . . 5j 5 grs. 

Sulphate of quinia . . gr. vj \ gr. 

Aromatic powder gr. xij 1 gr. 

Triturate together, and distribute into 12 powders. Dose, take 
a powder three times a day before meals. 

The proportion of sulphate of quinia should be increased when 
it is to be employed in convalescence from intermittents. 

No. 12. — Pills of Proto- Cirbonate of Iron and Quinia. 

Each. 
Take of Sulphate of quinia . . . . 9j 1 gr. 

Mass of carbonate of iron (Vallette's) 5j 3 grs. 

Mix, and make into 20 pills. Dose, one twice or three times a 
day. 

In this class of prescription, the sulphates of cinchonia and qui- 
nidia, and of bebeerina, may generally be substituted for that of 
quinia without disadvantage. 

No. 13. — Pills of Quevenne's Iron. 

Each. 

Take of Iron in powder . . gr. CC 2 grs. 

Manna gr. C 1 gr. 

Triturate into a mass and divide into 100 pills. 



TONICS AND AKOMATICS. 441 

Manna is an excellent excipient for Ferri pulvis, and will answer 
in less proportion, if very small pills are desired; when not at 
hand, it may be substituted by honey and a little gum Arabic, or 
tragacanth. 

In a number of cases it will be desirable to introduce adjuvants ; 
which may be in the form of extract. Extracts of conium, of aco- 
nite, cinchona, and quassia, are favorite adjuvants with Quevenne's 
iron. 

No. 14. — Pulvis Aromaticus, U. S. 

Take of Cinnamon, 

Ginger, of each ..... *ij. 
Cardamom, deprived of the capsules, 
Nutmeg, grated, of each . . . . |j. 
Eub them together into a very fine powder. 

In this preparation, the dry powders of cinnamon and ginger 
enable us to reduce the oily nutmeg and cardamoms to a fine con- 
dition; the whole should be passed through a sieve. 

By trituration with honey, syrup of orange-peel and saffron, this 
furnishes confectio aromatica. 

In compound powders, as in Prescription No. 11, this is a fre- 
quent ingredient, and is recommended by an agreeable flavor. 

No. 15.— Dr. Mitchell's Tonic Pills. 

Each. 

Take of Extract of quassia . . gr. xxxyj 3 grs. 

Extract of conium . . \ gr. 

Subcarbonate of iron, of each gr. iij J gr. 

Make into a mass with a few drops of solution of arsenite of 
potassa (if required) ; then divide into 12 pills. Dose, a pill twice 
or three times daily. 

No. 16. — Tonic and Aromatic Pills. (Dr. Parrish, Senior.) 







Each. 


Take of Sulphate of quinia . . gr. iij 
Powdered capsicum 
Mace 




|g r - 


Powdered cloves 




|g r - 


Carbonate of ammonia, each gr. vj 




Jgr- 


Oil of caraway . . . gtt. iij 
Confection of rose . . sufficient 




q.s. 


Form a uniform tenacious mass, and divide into 12 


pills 





442 ON POWDERS AND PILLS. 



No. 17. — Used in Obstinate Intermittents. (Dr. Chapman.) 

Each. 

Take of Sulphate of copper . . gr. iij \ gr. 

Powdered opium . . gr. iv J gr. 

" gum Arabic . gr. viij § gr. 

Syrup .... sufficient. 

Make a mass, and divide into 12 pills. Dose, one every three 
hours. 

No. 18.— Pihrice Ferri Composite, U.S. 

Each. 

Take of Myrrh, in powder . • 5\j 1| S r - 

Carbonate of soda . . ) FeO, C0 2 . 

Sulphate of iron, of each . 5j ) /o g r - 

Syrup q. s. q. s. 

Eub the myrrh with the carbonate of soda, then add the sulphate 
of iron, and again rub them ; lastly, beat them with the syrup so 
as to form a mass to be divided into eighty pills. 

This pill is similar in composition to Griffith's Iron Mixture. 
Supposing a reaction to take place between the salts present, proto- 
carbonate of iron would be produced, which, with the myrrh, forms 
an admirable remedy in chlorosis, &c. I should greatly prefer the 
use of a lump of fresh myrrh to the powdered article of commerce. 

No. 19. — Pilulce Ferri lodidi, U.S. 







Each. 


Take of Sulphate of iron . 


• 5i 


) Pel 
J 1 5 grs. 


Iodide of potassium 


. 9iv 


Tragacanth, in powder 


. gr. x 


I gr. 


Sugar, in powder 


. 5ss 


1 gr. 



Beat them with syrup, so as to form a mass, to be divided into 
forty pills. 

The formation of iodide of iron depends upon the presence of 
moisture and fluids to produce deliquescence. The mass should be 
as dry as possible to be plastic, and may then be advantageously 
kept in a tightly stopped bottle. 

No. 20. — For Chronic Indigestion and Irritability of Stomach. 

Each. 

Take of Bismuthi subnitratis . 3j 10 grs. 

Pulveris rhei . . . 5ss 5 grs. 

" aromatici . 3ij 6§ grs. 

Make into 6 powders. Take one before each meal. 



stimulants. 443 

Nervous Stimulants ; Antispasmodics. 
No. 21. — Pilulce Assafcetidce, IT. S. 

Reduced. Each. 

Take of Assafoetida . liss gr. xxxvj gr. iij. 

Soap . . §ss gr. xij gr. i. 

Beat them with water, so as to form a mass, and divide into 240 
pills. (The reduced quantity into 12 pills.) Dose, one to 4 pills. 

No. 22. — Pilulce Aloes et Assafoetida, U. S. 

Reduced. Each. 

Take of Aloes, in powder . "| gr. 1J. 

Assafoetida . Vgr. xvj gr. 1J. 

Soap, each . . . Iss J gr. 1J. 

Beat them with water, so as to form a mass, to be divided into 
180 pills. (Eeduced, 12 pills.) Dose, one to four pills. 

No. 23. — Pilulce GaTbani Compositce, U. S. 

Reduced. Each. 

Take of Galbanum . gr. 1|. 

Myrrh, each . 5vj each gr. xviij gr. 1J. 

Assafoetida . . 3ij g r - vj gr. J. 

Syrup . . sufficient sufficient gr. 3J. 

Beat them together, so as to form a mass, to be divided into 240 
pills. (Eeduced, 12 pills.) Dose, one to three pills. 

No. 24. — Dr. Otto's Antispasmodic Powders. 

Take of Black mustard seed, 
Powdered sage, 

Powdered ginger, equal parts by measure. 
Mix thoroughly. 

Dose, three teaspoonfuls, for three mornings in succession ; dis- 
continue three ; then give as before. To be moistened with water 
or molasses. 

This powder is highly recommended, in epilepsy, by several 
practitioners, and recently by Dr. Charles D. Hendry, of Haddon- 
field, N. J. 

Arterial Stimulants. 

No. 25. — Powders or Pills of Carbonate of Ammonia, &c. 

Take of Muriate of ammonia (granulated), 

Dried carbonate of soda, of each .... 9ij. 
Powdered capsicum . . . . . . 9j. 

Triturate into a uniform fine powder, and divide into 10 papers, 
which should be wrapped in tinfoil. 



444 ON POWDERS AND PILLS. 

By the aid of moisture, these powders are made to react with 
each other and develop carbonate of ammonia. To make into pills, 
add a portion of firm and rather dry conserve of rose. Divide into 
20 pills, and keep them in a vial. 



Cerebral Stimulants, or Narcotics. 

No. 2Q.—Pilulce Ojm, U. S. 

Reduced. Each. 

Take of Opium, in powder . 3j gr. xij gr. j. 

Soap . . . gr. xij < gr. iiss gr. £. 

Beat into a mass with water, and divide into 60 pills. (Reduced, 
12.) 

The officinal pills of opium have long appeared to me to be de- 
fective, and when it is left optional what excipient to employ, I use 
syrup, or syrup of gum in preference to soap, which is apt to be 
incompatible with the opium. 

Old opium pills are sometimes in request, from their being better 
retained by an irritable stomach, and from the fact that by their more 
gradual solution, they affect more favorably the diseases of the lower 
intestine. The best way to make pills to be kept for this purpose 
is to select a portion of the solid mass in its natural and plastic con- 
dition, and to divide it, without admixture, into the required num- 
ber of pills ; these, as they contract and harden, will become com- 
pact and of slow solubility. 



No. 27. — Anodyne Pills. 

Each. 

Take of Acetate of morphia . . gr. j gr. £. 

Extract of hyoscyamus . gr. iv gr. £. 

Triturate into a pill mass, and divide iuto 8 pills. Dose, one pill, 
repeated if necessary. 

These are very small, and are not astringent in their effects on 
the bowels. 

No. 28.— u Dr. Vance's Rheumatism and Gout Pills: 1 

Each. 

B. — Extracti colchici acetici . . 3ss gr. 1J 

Pulveris ipecacuanha) et opii . 5i ss i g r - vj gr. iv. 

Misce et divide in pilulas xxiv. JSigna. — Take two at night and 
one before breakfast and dinner. 

This is a most valuable combination, having been found effica- 
cious in a great many cases. 



EMETICS. 445 

No. 29. — Lartiquds Gout Pills. 

Each. 

B. — Extracti colocynthidis compositi . 5iss, gr. vj gr. 4. 
" colchici acetici . . gr. x gr. f . 

" digitalis . . . gr. v gr. £. 

Misce, fiat massa in pilulas xxiv, dividenda. Signa. — Take 2 for 



No. 30. — Pills of Camphor and Opium. 

Each. 

R. — Camphorse . . . . gr. xxiv gr. 2. 

Pulveris opii . . . . gr. vj gr. \. 

Alcoholis .... gtt. vj trace. 

Confectionis rosas . . . q. s. q. s. 

Misce, et fiant, secundum artem, pilula3 xij. Signa. — Dose from 

one to two pills. 

" Excito- Motor Stimulants." 
No. 31. — Powders given in Uterine Hemorrhages. 

Each. 

Take of Ergot, freshly powdered . 5j gr. 10. 

Alum, in powder . . 9j gr. 3^. 

Mix and divide into 6 equal parts. 

Sometimes borax is substituted for alum in similar combinations. 

Arterial Sedatives. 

No. 32. — Powders of Nitre and Tartrate of Antimony. 

Each. 
Take of Tartrate of antimony and potassa gr. j gr. Jj. 

Nitrate of potassa ... gr. 2 J. 

Sugar, each .... 3ss gr. 2J. 

Triturate into powder, and distribute equally into 12 papers. 
Some powders of this class are introduced among the liquid pre- 
parations. 

Emetics. 
No. 33. — A Prompt and Efficient Emetic. 

Each. 

R. — Pulveris ipecacuanha} . . . 3ss gr. xv. 

Antimonii et potassse tartratis . gr. ij gr. j. 

Misce et divide in pulveres ij. Signa. — Take one in a little mo- 
lasses, or sugar and water, and follow it by a draught of warm 
water. If one powder does not produce the effect, the second may 
be taken soon after. 



446 ON POWDERS AND PILLS. 

Sometimes calomel is added to emetic powders, and both a purga- 
tive and emetic effect are produced. Emetics, as such, are never 
given in pill. 

Cathartics and Laxatives. 

To this class belong six of the pills, and two of the compound 
powders of the Pharmacopoeia. 

No. Zl.—Pilulce Bhei, U. S. 

Reduced. Each. 

Take of Rhubarb, in powder . 5vj gr. xxxyj gr. 3. 

Soap . 5ij gr. xij gr. 1. 

Beat them with water, so as to form a mass, to be divided into 
120 pills. (Reduced, into 12 pills.) 

No. 35. — PilulcB Rhei Composite^, U. S. 

Reduced. Each. 

Take of Rhubarb, in powder 3j gr. xxiv gr. 2. 

Aloes " 5ij gr. xviij gr. U. 

Myrrh " Sss gr. xij gr. 1. 

Oil of peppermint f5ss *lij "l£. 

Beat them with water, so as to form a mass, to be divided into 
240 pills. (Reduced, into 12 pills.) 

No. 36.— Pilulce Aloes, U.S. 

Reduced. Each. 

Take of Aloes, in powder . gr. 2. 

Soap, each . . sj 9ij gr. 2. 

Beat them with water, so as to form a mass, to be divided into 
240 pills. (Reduced, 20 pills.) 

No. 37. — Pilulos IJydrargyri Chhridi Mills, U. S. 

Each. 

Take of Mild Chloride of mercury sss gr. xij g r -j- 

Gum Arabic, in powder . 5j gr. iij gr. i- 

Syrup, sufficient quantity. 

Mix together the chloride of mercury and the gum, then beat 
them with the syrup, so as to form a mass, to be divided into 240 
pills. (Reduced, 12 pills.) 

These pills are very rarely prescribed, as they contain too large 
a dose for the slow alterative effects, and are inconveniently small 
for a cathartic dose. (Compare No. 42 and No. 54.) 



gr. xvj 


l-i . 




lgr. 


gr. xij 


lgr. 


gr. iiss 


h 



CATHARTICS AND LAXATIVES. 447 



No. 38. — Pilulce Catharticce Composite, IT. S. 

Reduced. Each. 

Take of Compound extract of colocynth, 

in powder .... Iss 

Extract of jalap 1 

Mild chloride of mercury, each . 3nj 

Gamboge, in powder . . 9ij 

hem together; then with w£ 
into 180 pills. (Reduced, 12 pills.) 

These well-known and popular pills are very easy to make, if 
the extracts, both of colocynth and jalap are powdered before being 
incorporated with the other iDgredients; but if the extract of jalap 
is of a tough consistence, which it frequently reaches by partial 
drying, it is almost impossible to incorporate it with the other in- 
gredients. Powdered extract of jalap, as elsewhere stated, is now 
generally obtainable, and may be kept in a salt mouth bottle like 
any other powder, a few drops of moisture will form it into a plas- 
tic mass. The tough extract should be further dried and powdered, 
or, if required to be used on an emergency, may be softened by 
heating and triturating in a capsule with diluted alcohol. 

Under the name of anti-hilious pills, this preparation is vended in 
great quantities over the country, and by its admirable combina- 
tion of cathartic properties, is well adapted to supersede as a popu- 
lar remedy the numerous nostrums advertised and sold for similar 
purposes. 

]STo. 39. — Pilulce Aloes et Myrrhce, IT. S. 

Reduced. Each. 

Take of Aloes, in powder . . lij gr. xxiv 2 grs. 

Myrrh do. . . Ij gr. xij 1 gr. 

Saffron do. . . Iss gr. vj |- gr. 

Syrup, sufficient quantity q. s. 

Beat the whole together so as to form a mass, to be divided into 
480 pills. (Reduced, 12 pills.) 

A tonic and emmenagogue cathartic. Saffron may be reduced 
powder by heating it in a capsule till it becomes crisp, then tri- 



to 



No. 40. — Pulvis Aloes et Canellce, U. S. (Hiera Picra.) 

Reduced. 

Take of Aloes Ebj Iiss. 

Canella liij 3iij- 

Rub them separately into a very fine powder, and mix them. 

1 Extract of podophyllum might be well substituted in half the quantity, or if in 
the full proportion would increase the activity of the pill. 



448 ON POWDERS AND PILLS. 

Siera picra is generally macerated in some kind of spirits, and 
taken in draughts as a stomachic laxative. 

No. 41. — Pulvis Jalapoz Compositus, U. S. 

Take of Jalap, in powder Ij. 

Bitartrate of potassa 3ij. 

Mix them. 

This is a mild laxative, given in doses of gr. xv to 3ss. Sulphur 
and bitartrate of potassa are much associated in about equal bulks. 

No. 42. — Calomel and Jalap Powder. 

B. — Hydrargyri chloridi mitis . . . . gr. xv. 

Pulveris jalapoe 9j. 

Misce. To be given at a dose. 

In the same way rhubarb is very commonly associated with 
calomel. 

No. 43. — JRhularb and Magnesia Powder. 

B. — Pulveris rhei . . . . . . . 9j. 

Magnesias 9ij. 

Olei menthae viridis n^ j. 

Misce. To be given at a dose. 

Charcoal and magnesia constitute another very popular laxative 
combination. 

The weighing and putting up of these powders is very improving 
practice for the student at the commencement of his novitiate. 

No. 44.— M&cheWa Aperient Pills, U. S. 

B. — Pulveris aloes 
" rhei 

Ilydrarg. chlor. mit. 

Antim. et potas. tart. 
Misce, fiant piluke No. xij. 

One acts as an aperient, two or three as a cathartic; they, as well 
as most of the other aloetic pills, are contraindicated where there is 
a tendency to hemorrhoids. 

No. 45. — Laxative Tonic Pills. (Dr. Parrish, Sen.) 

Take of Powdered socotr'ine aloes . . . . 9ij. 

" rhubarb 9iv. 

Oil of caraway gtt. xij. 

Extract of gentian 9ij. 

Make into 40 pills. Dose, two before dinner. 





Each. 


gr. xij 


1 gr. 


gr. xxiv 


2 grs. 


gr. ij 


1 gr- 


gr-j 


h g r - 



CATHARTICS AND LAXATIVES. 449 

No. 46. — Dr. ATberty's Small Aniibilious Pills. 









Each 


B. — Calomelanos ....... 


g r - 


x^ 


1 g r - 


Pulv. gambogise ..... 


gr. 


V 


£gr. 


Misce et fiant piluke xxx. Dose, 2 or 3 pills. 








No. ±7.— Pills of Groton Oil. 






Each. 


Take of Oroton oil . . . . K iv 






Kh 


Crumb of bread . . . gr. xvj 






^j- 


Make into 16 pills. 









Croton oil and castor oil are both capable of forming soaps with 
caustic soda, which, being purified by solution in alcohol, and soli- 
dified in moulds, are eligible cathartic preparations. 

No. 48. — Dr. Chapman's Dinner Pills. 

Reduced. Each. 

Take of Powdered aloes . 1 J gr. 

" mastich, of each 3ij gr. xviij 1J gr. 

" ipecac. . . 9iv gr. xij 1 gr. 

Oil of caraway . . . ^l xij i*l ij trace. 

Mix and make into mass with water, and divide into 80 pills. 

(Reduced quantity, 12 pills.) 

These pills are much used in habitual costiveness ; the presence 
of the mastich protracts the solvent action of the fluids upon the 
aloes, so that one pill, which is a dose, taken before dinner, will pro- 
duce a gentle operation the next morning. 

No. 49.— Lady Webster Pills. 

Take of Powdered aloes Jvj. 

" mastich, 

" red roses, each .... .3ij. 
Syrup q. s. 

Make a mass, and divide into pills of 3 grains each. 
One or two of these taken before a meal, will usually produce 
an evacuation. 

Diuretics and Expectorants. 

These classes of medicines are very little given in the form of., 
pill or powder. 

29 





Reduced. 


Each. 


3j 


gr-vj 


igr- 
1 gr. 


3ij 


gr. xij 


Igr- 


5"j 


gr. xvnj 


IJgr 



450 ON POWDERS AND PILLS. 

No. 50. — Piluloz Scillce Composite, U. S. 

Take of Squill, in powder 
Ginger do. 
Ammoniac do., each 
Soap .... 
Syrup, a sufficient quantity q. s. 

Mix the powders together, then beat them with the soap, and 
add the syrup so as to form a mass, to be divided into 120 pills. 
(12 pills for the reduced quantity.) 

Soap and syrup seem to me as a poor kind of mixture, especially 
as either would be a sufficient excipient without the other. 

No. 51. — Aromatic Pills. (Mutter's.) 

Take of Oil of copaiva, 
" cubebs, 
" turpentine, each .... fjj. 

Magnesia 3ij- 

Mix, and form 60 pills. 

These are very large, though quite popular in the treatment of 
gonorrhoea. Some recipes direct gr. iv of powdered opium to this 
number. They would be improved in a pharmaceutical aspect by 
substituting copaiva and Venice turpentine for the oils of copaiva 
and turpentine. The dose is two pills three times a day. 

Diaphoretics. 

No. 52. — Pulvis Ipccocuanhce et Opii, U. S. (Dover's Powder.) 

Reduced. 
Take of Ipecacuanha, in powder, gr. j. 

Opium, in powder, of each . 3j gr. j. 

Sulphate of potassa . . . 3J gr. viij. 

Rub them together into a very fine powder. Dose, 10 grains, 
the reduced quantity in the above recipe. 

This valuable preparation is too well known to require much 
comment, it is used in a great variety of cases in which a sedative 
diaphoretic is indicated. It should be remembered, that the opium 
is to be dried before being weighed, otherwise the powder may be 
deficient in strength. It should also be well and thoroughly tritu- 
rated from containing hard crystals to an almost impalpable 
powder. It is said to be less liable to nauseate in the form of pills. 



emmenagogues. 451 

Alteratives. 
No. 53. — Compound Pills of Iodide of Mercury. 

Each. 

Take of Iodide of mercury v. gr. x \ gr. 

Eesin of guaiacum . . gr. 9ij 2 gr. 

Extract of conium . . gr. 3ss 1 \ gr. 

Triturate the resin of guaiacum into a mass with a little alcohol, 
then incorporate with it the extract of conium and iodide of mer- 
cury, and divide into 20 pills. 

These pills are alterative, and may be used in scrofulous, and 
skin diseases. Extract of sarsaparilla may be added to, or sub- 
stituted for, some of the other ingredients. 

No. 54. — Alterative Powders of Calomel. 

Each. 

R. — Hydrargyri chloridi mitis . gr. j T * 5 . 

Sacchari gr. xj {£. 

Misce, fiat pulvis in chartulas xij, dividenda. 
Signa. — Take one every hour (or two hours), till the gums are 
touched. 

When there is a disposition to undue purging, from gr. ss to gr. ij 
of powdered opium may be added to the above quantities. 

Emmenagogues. 
No. 55. — Dr. Otto's Emmenagogue Pills. 

Take of Calcined sulphate of iron . . gr. xlviij. 
Aloes, in powder . . . gr. xij. 

Turpentine gr. xxxij. 

Oil of turpentine .... gtt. x or q. s. 
Make a mass, and divide into 30 pills. Dose, 2, three times a day. 

Prescribed originally by the late Dr. J. C. Otto, and very fre- 
quently by the late Dr. Isaac Parrish ; a similar recipe is often 
directed by Dr. Pepper in the Pennsylvania Hospital Clmique. 

The cautious addition of oil of turpentine insures an adhesive 
and plastic mass. 

Numerous pills containing aloes, myrrh, and iron, given under 
the head of tonics and cathartics are much used as emmenagogues. 
(See also Hooper's Female Pills, among the patent medicines.) 



452 ON POWDERS AND PILLS. 



SUPPOSITORIA. 

Suppositories, as a class of medicines, are so seldom prescribed, 
that I can lay claim to little practical familiarity with their prepa- 
ration. They are used to insert into the rectum to fulfil several 
indications; sometimes their action is mechanical, but they usually 
owe their utility either to a narcotic, astringent, or cathartic ingre- 
dient. 

The only officinal preparation commonly prescribed in this form, 
is: — 

No. 56. — Pihrice Saponis Composite, U. S. 

Consisting of opium a half ounce, and soap two ounces, triturated 
into a mass ; this is made into a round or oblong mass of suitable 
size, say 10 grains, and inserted, either by the finger, or by the 
tube here figured, which is made for the purpose of wood or ivory. 

Fig. 211. 

Tube and piston for introducing suppositories. 

The suppository is improved by being smeared with some bland 
fixed oil, which facilitates its introduction. From a paper by 
Alfred B. Taylor, in the American Journal of Pharmacy, vol. xxiv. 
p. 211, the following recipes are extracted: — 

" There is perhaps no substance so well adapted to serve as the 
vehicle of these applications, as the butter of cocoa (oleum cacao), 
as no combination of suet, spermaceti, or wax, &c., combines in so 
great a degree the proper hardness or firmness of substance, with 
the requisite fusibility. 

"The following formula is a prescription of Dr. S. W. Mitchell, 
and has been considerably used. 

No. 57. — Take of Cocoa butter .... Siss. 

Powdered opium gr. xij. 

Mix, and make into twelve suppositories. 

" The butter of cocoa is to be melted by a gentle heat. The opium 
is then to be well rubbed up with a small quantity of the fluid, 
until thoroughly incorporated, and the remainder of the melted 
butter gradually added. When cool and slightly thickened, the 
mass, being well stirred, should then be poured into paper cones. 

"If the cocoa butter is too fluid when transferred to the moulds, 
the opium will settle to the apex of the cone, and not be thoroughly 
diffused through the substance. 

"When perfectly hard, these cones should be pared or scraped at 
the base until they weigh just one drachm, giving one grain of 
opium to each suppository. 



SUPPOSITORIES. 453 

"Practically, therefore, it will be necessary to make one less than 
the required number, reserving the parings for another operation. 
The following formula has been prescribed by Dr. Pancoast : — 

No. 58. — Take of Cocoa butter . . . Ij. 

Extract of krameria .... 9ij. 

Powdered opium . . . . gr. v. 
Mix and make into ten suppositories as above. 

"It is stated that cocoa butter is much esteemed in France for its 
supposed healing qualities, and is a favorite application in cases of 
piles. With powdered galls or tannic acid this substance would 
therefore, probably, form a useful substitute for the ordinary pile 
ointment. 

" The proportions to be employed would, of course, be regulated 
entirely by the physician's order. 

" In Dorvault's French work on Practical Pharmacy, suppositories 
are described as varying from the size of the little finger to that 
of the thumb, and weighing from 3j \ to 3ij J (five to ten grammes). 
The author gives as a formula for the vehicle, butter of cocoa melted 
with an eighth part, by weight, of white wax; or as an inferior 
substitute, and one less used, common tallow mixed with the same 
proportion of wax. Soap suppositories are formed by simply cutting 
soap into convenient shapes. Suppositories are also prepared from 
honey, by boiling down this substance till it becomes sufficiently 
hard to retain its shape. There are also formulas given for anthel- 
mintic, anti-hemorrhoidal, astringent, emmenagogue, laxative, and 
vaginal suppositories, as well as belladonna, calomel, cicuta, mer- 
curial, and quinine suppositories. 

"In Gray's Supplement to the Pharmacopoeia, there is given the fol- 
lowing formula for a suppository, taken from the Codex Medic. Ham- 
berg, 1845. 

No. 59.— Take of Aloes .... 3yj. 

Common salt liss. 

Spanish soap 3iss. 

Starch Iviij. 

Mix and make into a mass with honey, and then form into cones 
of the required size." 

No. 60. — Anthelmintic Suppositories. 

Take of Aloes, in powder Iss. 

Chloride of sodium Jiij. 

Flour iij. 

Honey sufficient. 

Form into a firm paste, and make into 12 suppositories. Used 
in the treatment of ascarides. 



454 LIQUID PREPARATIONS, SOLUTIONS, MIXTURES, ETC. 



CHAPTER V. 

LIQUID PREPARATIONS, SOLUTIONS, MIXTURES, &c 

These forms include a great variety of preparations. The term 
mixture is applied strictly to those liquids in which insoluble sub- 
stances are suspended, but, in a more general sense, to all liquid 
medicines not included in one of the several classes of solutions, in- 
fusions, tinctures, &c. In treating of them here, I shall for conve- 
nience include all extemporaneous preparations prescribed in the 
liquid form, endeavoring to adopt such a classification as will aid 
the student in acquiring a knowledge of the principles which should 
guide the practitioner in their composition. 

The hints given toward the preparation of ingredients into the 
form of pills are generally quite reversed in the case of mixtures, 
which should mostly be composed of substances in part or entirely 
soluble, or by their lightness readily diffusible in water. In mix- 
tures, the use of excipients is not limited, as in the other case, by 
the necessity of not exceeding a certain bulk, but they may be freely 
added with a view to improving the composition physically, phar- 
maceutically, and therapeutically, and within certain pretty wide 
bounds, while the range of medical agents prescribed is enlarged 
by the addition of a great number of fluids as the fixed and essential 
oils, ethers, solutions of ammonia, &c. There are reasons, however, 
which make the art of combining in the liquid, much more difficult 
than in the solid form. In the presence of the great neutral solvent, 
the chemical affinities of various saline ingredients are fully brought 
into play, which, when in a dry or even a plastic condition, are 
without action upon each other; again, the physical difficulties to 
be overcome in this form of preparation are greater than in the fore- 
going, because the variety of materials to be combined is increased. 
The proper suspension of fixed and essential oils, for instance, is a 
matter of no little skill, and the division and diffusion of various 
powders require judgment and skill only attainable by a familiarity 
with their physical properties. 

There is also in the introduction of excipients and adjuvants, 
great scope for the exercise of ingenuity, to improve not only the 
flavor, but the appearance of mixtures. (See Prescriptions No. 72 
and 73, and others.) 

Next to a considerable range of practice in the composition of 
mixtures, I know of no better way to become familiar with the sub- 
ject than by a study of a syllabus like that here presented, together 



LIQUID PREPARATIONS, SOLUTIONS, MIXTURES, ETC. 455 



with a number of approved formulae, such as are grouped together 
in this chapter. 

Medicines suited to Liquid Form. 

MOST SOLUBLE SALTS, LIGHT INSOLUBLE POWDERS, EXTRACTS, GUM RESINS, FIXED AND 
ESSENTIAL OILS, AND ALL THE GALENICAL SOLUTIONS. 



INSOLUBLE. 



FORMING ELIGIBLE SOLUTIONS WITH 
WATER. 

Alumen. 
Amnion, murias. 
Antim. et potass, tart. 
Barii chloridum. 
Calcii chloridum. 
Ferri sulphas. 

" et pot. tartras. 
Manganesii sulphas. 
Magnesiae sulphas. 
Potassae acetas. 

" bicarbonas. 

" carbonas. 

" citras. 

" chloras. 

" tartras. 
Potassii bromidum. 

" iodidum. 
Morphiae acetas. 

" sulphas murias. 
Sodse bicarbonas. 

" boras. 

" carbonas. 

'.' sulphas. 

" et pot. tartras. 
Sodii chloric!. 
Sodse phosphas. 
Acid, citric. 
" tartaric. 
" tannic. 



MIXING WITH WATER, BUT NOT FORMING 
CLEAR SOLUTIONS. 

Diffused by agitation : — 
Magnesia. 
Potassae bitart. 
Sulphur prascip. 
Pulv. cinchonas. 

" ipecac. 
Quinise sulph. 
Miscible by trituration alone : — 
Extractum aconiti. 

" belladonnas. 

" conii. 

" hyoscyamii. 

" stramonii. 

" taraxaci. 

" krameriae. 

" glycyrrhizae. 
Confectiones. 
Assafcetida. 
Ammoniac. 
Guaiacum. 
Myrrha. 
Scammonium. 
Suspended by the aid of viscid excipienls:— 
Copaiba. 
01. amygdalae. 
" ricini. 
" olivae. 
" terebinthinse. 
Olea essentia. 
Ferri protocarb. 



REQUIRING CERTAIN 
ADDITIONS TO FORM 
ELIGIBLE SOLUTIONS. 

Quinise sulphas. 

Cinchoniae sulphas. 

Quinidiae sulphas. 

Chinoidine. 

Iodinium. 

Hydrarg. iodid. rub. 

Requiring viscid sub- 
stances, as correctives 
or vehicles. 

Ammoniae carbonas. 

Hydrarg. chlorid. 
corros. 

Potassii cyanuretum. 

Potassa. 



BEST FORMED INTO 
SOLUTION IN MAK- 
ING THE SALTS. 

Ammoniae acetas. 
Magnesiae citras. 
Acid, phosphoric. 
Potassae arsenitis. 
" bitartras. 
Arsenici et hyd. iod. 
Potassa. 
Ferri citras. 
" nitras. 



456 LIQUID PREPARATIONS, SOLUTIONS, MIXTURES, ETC. 

Preparations adapted to Use as Vehicles or Correctives of the Unplea- 
sant Taste, and other Properties, especially of Saline Substances. 

Aquue medicate (generally). Infusum rosse comp. 

Syrupi (generally). Saccharum. 

Tinctura cinnamomi. Pulv. acacioe, saccharum, 

" " comp. and with these — 

Tinctura cardamomi. Olea destillata. 

" " comp. Tinct. Tolutana. 

Mistura amygdalte. " zingiberis. 

Spt. lavandulse comp. 

Of the most numerous class in the syllabus, those which form 
eligible solutions, without the addition of any chemical or other 
excipient, it should be remarked that many are so well adapted to 
combinations with other medicinal or corrective substances as to 
be rarely prescribed alone. Thus, muriate of ammonia is nearly 
always prescribed with expectorant remedies in cough mixtures. 
The bicarbonate and carbonate of potassa, and of soda with pro- 
phylactics, as in hooping-cough mixtures ; or with stimulants, as 
in ordinary carminative and antacid remedies, acetate of potassa is 
much used with other diuretics. Alum and borax are best adapted 
to gargles and astringent washes, in which other medicines, not in- 
compatible, may be combined. Bromide and iodide of potassium 
are instances of mineral substances, often combined with vegetable 
alteratives, which increase their effect and take off at the same time 
their very unpleasant sensible properties. 

In the formula? which follow, these modes of combination are 
illustrated as well as those of the less soluble substances displayed 
in the other groups of the syllabus. The part of this work de- 
voted to pharmaceutical chemistry, contains the mode of preparing 
those solutions, the medicinal ingredients of which are developed 
spontaneously in the process of preparation. 

Incompatibles. 

The subject of incompatibles is, it appears to me, too much of a 
stumbling-block to the student. A moderate amount of chemical 
knowledge will serve to guard the practitioner against the use of 
incompatibles entirely, while the observance of a few simple rules 
will be sufficient to protect from glaring errors in this respect In 
the list of substances incompatible with each other, as published in 
the books, perhaps a majority are not likely to be ordered, on ac- 
count of any fitness they have for each other in their therapeutical 
relations, while it is well known that some of the most popular of 
prescriptions are framed with the especial design of producing pre- 
cipitates, which, being diffused in the resulting liquid, aid its general 
effect. 

Authors have given too absolute a sense to the term incompati- 
ble, by giving sanction to the idea that all substances which form 
insoluble precipitates are incompatible with each other. An insolu- 



INCOMPATIBLES. 457 

ble compound is not necessarily inert, but, as experience abundantly 
proves, is frequently the best and most eligible form for a medicine. 

The reactions which occur in the organism are not to be judged 
of by ordinary chemical laws, as manifested in the laboratory of 
the chemist. The difference of action between the animal solvents 
under the influence of the life force, and those employed by the 
chemist with the mechanical means at his command, are too well 
known and appreciated to require extended notice. Living beings 
can dissolve, appropriate, and circulate in their fluids, substances 
which, to ordinary agencies, are most intractable and insoluble. 

Corrosive sublimate, when precipitated by albumen, gluten, and 
casein, is presented in the most insoluble form possible, and yet 
this mode of combination is highly recommended by the French as 
being more easily endured by the stomach, while the alterative 
effect is both mild and certain. This mode of procedure is stated 
by Dorvalt to be adapted to a number of mineral salts, such as lead, 
tin, zinc, copper, silver, platina, gold, &c, all of which form, with 
albuminous substances, compounds insoluble in water and ordinary 
solvents, but soluble in the liquids of the alimentary canal, by the 
aid of which they are placed in condition very suitable for medici- 
nal action. 

These facts are applicable to toxicology. When in a case of 
poisoning from vegetable alkalies, tannin, or an astringent decoction 
is given ; or, after the use of a poisonous dose of arsenious acid, 
we give hydrated peroxide of iron ; or, after corrosive sublimate, 
albumen ; an insoluble compound is formed in each case, and yet 
it does not follow that these compounds are inert, but only that 
their immediate effects are destroyed, and their absorption dimi- 
nished ; indeed, it has been proved that, in cases of poisoning, where 
antidotes had been used successfully, the urine contained both the 
poison and antidote five or six days after they were taken. The 
practice of administering purgatives and emetics for the complete 
evacuation of poisons, even after neutralization, is founded on the 
fact that they are still capable of slow absorption. 

In connection with this subject, it may be well to mention the 
fact that when active metallic substances, as, for instance, the salts 
of mercury and of antimony, are taken for some time continuously, 
they seem to be deposited in the alimentary canal in an insoluble 
form, so that, by administering a chemical preparation which forms 
with them soluble salts, they sometimes display their activity to an 
alarming and even dangerous extent. The rationale of the use 
of iodide of potassium, after the long-continued use of mercurials, 
is, that it forms an iodide of mercury, which it dissolves and carries 
off through the secretions ; salivation is sometimes induced, un- 
expectedly, in this way. It is stated that patients, who have used 
antimonials, are sometimes nauseated by lemonade made from tar- 
taric acid, owing to the formation of tartar emetic from the undis- 
solved oxide of antimony. These facts are not without interest, in 
connection with the subject of prescribing. 



458 LIQUID PREPARATIONS, SOLUTIONS, MIXTURES, ETC. 

Considering it necessary, as a general rule, to avoid the asso- 
ciation of substances which, by contact, may produce unknown or 
ill-defined compounds, or compounds different from those intended 
to be administered, I proceed to state briefly the most important 
rules relative to incompatibles : — 

1. Whenever two salts, in a state of solution can, by the ex- 
change of their bases and acids, form a soluble and an insoluble 
salt, or two insoluble salts, the decomposition takes place, and the 
insoluble salt is precipitated, or, by combining with the soluble 
salt, gives birth to a double salt, which is rarely the case. 

2. If we mix the solutions of two salts which cannot create a 
soluble salt, and an insoluble salt, a precipitate will not be formed, 
and most frequently there will be no decomposition, although this 
is not invariably the case. 

3. In mixing any salt and a strong acid, a decomposition is very 
apt to take place. 

4. Salts with feeble acids, especially carbonic and acetic, are 
always decomposed by strong acids. 

5. Alkalies in contact with the salts of the metals proper, or of 
the alkaloids, decompose them, precipitating their bases. 

6. Metallic oxides, in contact with acids, combine with them and 
form salts whose properties are sometimes unlike either the acid 
oxides. 

7. Vegetable astringents precipitate albumen, gelatin, vegetable 
alkalies, and numerous metallic oxides, and with salts of iron pro- 
duce black inky solutions. 

8. The condition most favorable to chemical action is a solution 
of the salts in concentrated form without the intervention of viscid 
substances, so that when the indications require the employment of 
two substances which are incompatible, it is well to form a dilute 
solution of one of them in a mucilaginous or syrupy liquid before 
adding the other. In this way the decomposition may often be 
averted. 

In the table appended, some preparations are mentioned which, 
as a general rule, the practitioner should avoid combining with 
chemical substances; they are best given in simple solution, or 
some of them, with the addition of the Galenical preparations, or 
simple saccharine or mucilaginous excipients : — 

Acidum hydrocyanicum. Antimonii et potassoe tartras. 

" nitro-muriaticum. Potassii cyanuretum. 
Liquor hydrarg. et arscn. iodid. " bromidum. 

" potassoe arsenitis. " iodidum. 

" calcis. Ferri et pot. tartras. 

" barii chloridi. Quinise sulphas. 

" calcii chloridi. Cinchoniae sulphas. 

" iodinii compositua. Quinidice sulphas. 

" potasste. Morphia sulphas. 

" ferri citratis. " murias. 

" morphias sulphatis. " acetas. 

" " nitratis. " valerianas. 

Tinct. ferri chloridi. Zinci acetas. 

Tinct. iodinii. Potassse acetas. 



EXCIPIENTS USED IX MIXTURES. 459 

In addition to what has been said, it seems proper to notice what 
will be more particularly brought into view in commenting on the 
formulas which follow ; the intentional use of medicines, in one 
sense, incompatible for the purpose of producing new and more 
desirable compounds. The proto-carbonate of iron is in this way 
produced from the sulphate and a carbonated alkali. The acetate 
of ammonia by the addition to a solution of the carbonate of acetic 
acid. In the same way black and yellow wash are extemporaneously 
prepared by adding to lime-water, calomel and corrosive sublimate, 
respectively. The association of sulphate of zinc and acetate of lead 
furnishes a familiar illustration of the same fact ; the resulting pre- 
cipitate of sulphate of lead, occurring as an impalpable powder or 
magma, is favorable to the therapeutic object in view. 

Laudanum is quite incompatible with subacetate of lead ; but one 
of the most popular of lotions contains these ingredients associated, 
so that it is not correct to say that these substances are incompati- 
ble in a medical sense, however, in a purely chemical point of view, 
they may be considered so. 

Pharmaceutical incompatibles are those in which a disturbance of 
a solution takes place in a way not considered strictly chemical. 
My observation has satisfied me that these are very commonly asso- 
ciated, though little observed. In speaking of pills, I referred to 
some pharmaceutical incompatibles, and may now instance others. 
If we add tincture of Tolu to an aqueous solution, the resin of the 
Tolu separates almost entirely as a coagulum, and collects on the 
side of the bottle, thus being lost as a medicinal ingredient of the 
preparation, besides rendering it very unsightly. The same remark 
applies to other resinous tinctures. 

The admixture of tincture of guaiacum with the spirit of nitric 
ether is another instance ; the resinous tincture gelatinizes into a 
mass, and is unfit for use. The addition of tincture of cinnamon to 
infusion of digitalis after filtration, as directed in the Pharmacopoeia, 
occasions a precipitate. 

List of Pharmaceutical Incompatibles. 

Comp. infusion of cinchona, with comp. infusion gentian. 

Essential oils with aqueous liquids in quantities exceeding 1 drop to f §j. 

Fixed oils and copaiva, with aqueous liquids, except with excipients. 

Spirit of nitric ether with strong mucilages. 

Infusions generally with metallic salts. 

Compound infusion of gentian with infusion of wild cherry. 

Tinctures made with strong alcohol, with those made with weak alcohol. 

Tinctures made with strong alcohol, with infusions and aqueous liquids. 

Excipients used in Mixtures, &c. 

The consideration of excipients will bring into view the best 
modes of overcoming some of these pharmaceutical incompatibilities. 



460 LIQUID PREPARATIONS, SOLUTIONS, MIXTURES, ETC. 

In the form of mixture we use, in the first place, as diluents — 

Water. Compound infusion of rose. 

The medicated waters. Emulsion of almonds. 

Syrups. Honey of rose. 

As excipients or constituents in a stricter sense — 

Pow'd acacia, 1 . n ■ , Extracts. 

c ' > mixed or singly. v „ „ 

feugar, J ° J Yelk ot egg. 

Powd. tragacanth. White of egg. 

Confections. 

As flavoring agents with viscid ingredients — 

f Cinnamon, f Ginger. 

Essential oils of j ^^ Tinctures of j ™* p ^ 

I Caraway, &c. [ " of mint. 

As flavoring and coloring agents with or without viscid ingre- 
dients — 

Tincture of cinnamon. Comp. tincture of gentian. 

Compound tincture of cinnamon. Fluid extract of vanilla. 

Tincture of cardamom. Ginger syrup. 

Compound tincture of cardamom. Tolu syrup. 

Compound spirit of lavender. Fruit syrups, &c. 

The diluents are useful as enabling us to divide the doses of an 
active medicine to almost any extent ; they correspond to the sugar, 
gum, aromatic powder, &c, prescribed for a similar purpose with 
powders, and with conserve of rose and some other bulky additions 
used in pill masses. 

The immense utility of excipients, and flavoring agents generally, 
will be best illustrated by the examples which follow. The skilful 
employment of these adds greatly to the success of the prescriber. 

The necessity of limiting the number of prescriptions given, and 
the importance of including in them a considerable variety of medi- 
cinal agents, will forbid the illustration of all the numerous points 
in this connection, and much will necessarily be left to be filled up 
by the ingenuity of the learner. 



EXTEMPORANEOUS SOLUTIONS, MIXTURES, &c. 

Astringents. 

No. 61. — Mistura Cretce, U. S. (Chalk Mixture, or Chalk Julep.) 

Take of Prepared chalk . . . . 3ss. 

Sugar, 

Powdered gum Arabic, each . . 5ij- 
Cinnamon water, 

"Water, each foiv. 

Bub them together till they are thoroughly mixed. 



ASTRINGENTS. 461 

To this, which is a very popular antacid astringent, the addition 
is often made of tincture of kino, or some similar vegetable astrin- 
gent, either with or without tincture of opium. In the absence of 
cinnamon water, two drops of the oil of cinnamon for each ounce 
of that water ordered, may be added to the dry ingredients. As 
the mixture does not keep very well, it is a convenient plan to keep 
the powders ready mixed, and add the water when required. Chalk 
mixture is giving in an adult dose of gss. 

No. 62. — ParrisKs Camphor Mixture. (Dr. Parrish, Sen.) 

B. — Aquae camphorae f liij. 

Spiritus lavandulae compositi . . . fsj. 

Sacchari 3j. 

Misce. 

Give a tablespoonful every two hours in diarrhoea and cholera- 
morbus, adding ten drops of laudanum when there is much pain. 

This preparation, which was originally prescribed in 1832, has 
been found so generally useful and safe that it has become a stand- 
ard remedy, and is prepared and sold by all druggists in Philadel- 
phia and its vicinity. 

No. 63. — Hope's Camphor Mixture. 

R. — Aquae camphorae . . . f liv. 
Acidi nitrosi ... .1*1 xxx. 
Tincturae opii . . . . fit xx vel. xl. Misce. 

Dose, a tablespoonful every two hours in diarrhoea and dysentery. 1 

1 Extracted from the Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal, January, 1 824. Ob- 
servations on the Powerful Effects of a Mixture containing Nitrous Acid and Opium in 
curing Dysentery, Cholera, and Diarrhoea. By Thomas Hope, Esq., Surgeon, Chatham. 
— " More than twenty-six years ago, when attending a case of dysentery in which the 
usual remedies had been prescribed in vain, the patient determined, on his own accord, 
to take a medicine I had sent for his nurse, who was worn out with attention to her 
charge, and complained of excessive thirst. It occurred to me to give an acid to alle- 
viate her complaint, and in order to obviate any unpleasant effects, to join opium with 
it; I accordingly sent the following : R. — Acidi nitrosi ^ij ; Ext. opii gr. ij ; Aquse 
§ij. — M. Cap. cochl. minus ter quarterve in die ; and the patient with dysentery 
having taken some of this medicine, the effect produced was so great that it no less 
surprised him, who, by a continuance of it, recovered, than it did myself. 

" The form of the medicine, as I have used it in all the cases referred to, is as 
under : — 

R. — Acid, nitrosi gj. 

Mist, camphor .... §viij. Misce et adde 

Tinct. opii gtt. xl. 

Sig. — One-fourth part to be taken every three or four hours. 

" In chronic dysentery, the dose of two ounces three times a day is quite sufficient ; 
the remedy is grateful to the taste ; abates thirst ; soon removes the intensity of pain ; 
and procures, in general, a speedy and permanent relief. No previous preparation is 
required for taking it, nor any other care whilst taking it, except the keeping of the 
hands and feet warm, preserving the body as much as possible from exposure to ex- 



462 LIQUID PREPARATIONS, SOLUTIONS, MIXTURES, ETC. 

No. 64. — A New Remedy in Hemorrhages. 

Take of Oil of erigeron f 5j. 

Sugar 5ij. 

(jum Arabic . . . . . 3j- 

Triturate the oil with the gum and sugar into a dry powder, then 
add — 

Water .... flij, f 5vj. 

Sig. — Take a tablespoonful three times a day. 

Dr. E. Wilson and others have had considerable success in the 
treatment of uterine hemorrhages with the oil of erigeron ; in the 
doses here prescribed, each f3 contains gtt. v of the oil. 

Alteratives, &c. 
No. 65. — Blue Mass and Chalk Mixture. 

Take of Mercurial mass, in powder . . 3ss. 

Prepared chalk, . . . . 3j- 
Gum Arabic, in powder, 

Sugar, do., of each . 3ss. 

Tincture of opium .... "ixxx. 

Aromatic syrup of rhubarb . . Oj, f3vj. 
Triturate into a uniform mixture. 

Dose, f5j to stimulate the secretion of bile, and check diarrhoea. 
Tincture of kino or other astringents may be added. 

No. 66. — Creasote Mixture. 

Take of Creasote gtt. xvj. 

Powdered gum Arabic . . . . 3j- 

Susrar 3ss. 

Water fgij. 

Triturate the creasote with the gum and sugar, then gradually 
add the water and triturate to a uniform mixture. 

Dose, a teaspoonful containing one drop of creasote, used in 
bronchitis, phthisis, &c, and to check vomiting. Creasote is solu- 
ble in water to the extent of "iv to f.ij, and for external use is best 
made into a suitable solution by shaking up with water. 

treme cold or currents of air, and making use of warm barley- water or thin gruel, 
and a diet of sago or tapioca. 

" It is necessary to mention that the remedy, the good effects of which I now detail, 
is nitrous acid with opium, not nitric acid. I have not found nitric acid with opium 
to produce any good effect, for, having expended my nitrous acid, I sent to a chemist 
for a fresh supply, who, by mistake, sent me nitric acid, which I used merely by way 
of trial, but found it not in any way beneficial to my patients." 



tonics. 463 

Tonics. 

No. 67. — Fever and Ague Mixture. 

B. — Powdered red bark 3iij- 

Confection of opium, 

Lemon-juice 3iss. 

Port wine f Jiij. 

Mix by trituration in a mortar. 

Dose, three tablespoonfuls morning, noon, and night, the day 
the fever is off. 

Some recipes direct powdered serpentaria in addition to the 
above. 

Though not an elegant, this is a most efficient and valuable com- 
bination. 

No. 68. — Mistura Ferri Composita, U. S. (Griffith's Myrrh Mixture.) 

Take of Myrrh, 

Sugar, of each 3j- 

Carbonate of potassa . . . . gr. xxv. 

Triturate together into a fine milky mixture with 

Eose water flviiss. 

Then add Spirit of lavender (simple) . . . flss. 

Sulphate of iron, in powder . . . 9j. 

Dose, a tablespoonful according to circumstances, given as a 
tonic in phthisis, and in anaamic cases generally. 

The strict phraseology of the Pharmacopoeia has been departed 
from above in the hope of rendering the pharmaceutical points in 
the preparation more clear. 

The sulphate of iron and carbonate of potassa here used, form 
by double decomposition the sulphate of potassa and protocarbo- 
nate of iron, which latter floats in the milky mixture of myrrh and 
sugar, giving it a green color. This is, however, in very small 
proportion, so that in each f |ss dose, there is not more than gr. ss. 
This preparation is, however, a very useful and an elegant one. 
(See Pil. Ferri Garbonatis and Ferri /Subcarbonatis.) 

No. 69. — A good Preparation of Iron and Cinchona. 
(Substitute fob, Tinctuba Cinchona Ferrata. — See p. 118.) 

B. — Tinct. cinchon. comp. 1 f^iv. 

Ferri citratis 3j- 

Acidi citrici gr. xv. 

1 Tinct. cinchonse et quassias comp. makes a better preparation, and scarcely pre- 
cipitates at all. 



464 LIQUID PREPARATIONS, SOLUTIONS, MIXTURES, ETC. 

Triturate the citric acid and citrate of iron together, and dissolve 
in the tincture of cinchona. Liq. ferri citratis f 3j may be used as 
a substitute for the rather insoluble salt. The dose is a teaspoon- 
ful, containing two grains of citrate of iron. 

The citric acid breaks up any tannate of iron as soon as formed, 
and it is reproduced on the addition of an alkali. There is a lia- 
bility to considerable precipitate of cinchonic red, but very little 
iron is thrown down. 

No. 70. — A Concentrated Solution of Quinia a,. I Iron. 

R. — Quinia? sulphatis ...... 9j. 

Tr. ferri chloridi fSiiss. 

Ft. solutio. 

One grain of sulph. quinia is contained in every 7J minims 
(about 15 drops) of the solution, which is an appropriate dose ; it 
may be made three times the strength. To prescribe it in a more 
diluted form, add water fsij, and syrup of orange-peel (or other 
suitable syrup) fSiij. The dose will then be a teaspoonful, equiva- 
lent to 1 gr. of the quinia salt. 

No. 71. — A Bitter Tonic for Dyspepsia. 

B. — Tr. cinchonae et quassise comp. . . . f,5iv. 
Tincturae nucis vomicae .... f3j. 
Misce. 

A teaspoonful 3 times a day in a little sugar and water. 
This is one of the very best recipes of its kind. 

No. 72. — Aromatic and Antacid Corrective of Indigestion. 

R. — Sodas bicarbonatis 9iv. 

Infus. gentianse comp. .... f.siiss. 

Aquae menthae pip. ..... fsiij. 

Tinct. cardamomi comp. .... f^ss. 

Dose, a tablespoonful as required. 

The above makes a handsome preparation; it was furnished me 
by my friend Dr. J. J. Levick. 

Arterial Stimulants. 
No. 73. — Carbonate of Ammonia Mixture. 







Dose contains 


Take of Carbonate of ammonia . 




gr. X. 


Powdered gum Arabic . 




gr. x. 


Sugar, each 


5iss 


gr. x. 


Comp. spirit of ether, 




T»l XV. 


" tinct of cardam., each 


f5ii 


"1 XV. 


Water .... 


f3iijss 





Make a mixture. Dose, a tablespoonful every two or three 



NERVOUS STIMULANTS. 465 

hours. A stimulant in low conditions, as in the last stages of 
disease. 

No. 74. — Oil of Turpentine Mixture. 

R. — Olei terebinthinae . . . . . . f5iij. 

Eulv. acacise, 

S ^chari, aa 9ij. 

"? ict. opii "I L. 

i\ uae cinnamomi ..... f,?vss. 

Triturate the gum and sugar with flj of the cinnamon water, 
and add the other ingredients. The yelk of an egg may be substi- 
tuted "'Ivantageously for the gum and sugar, and a part of the 
water. Dose, f3j, containing about K [y of the oil, and H j of tinc- 
ture of opium. 

Nervous Stimulants. 

No. 75. — Mistura Assafoetidce, IT. S. (Milk of Assafoetida.) 

Take of Assafoetida 5\j- 

Water Oss. 

Eub the assafoetida with the water gradually added until they 
are thoroughly mixed. A good extemporaneous way to prepare 
this very popular antispasmodic, is to form a wine of assafoetida, as 
directed by Henry N. Eittenhouse, of this city, by triturating Iss of 
the gum resin, with f5x wine. It should be carefully selected, so 
as not to require straining; this wine will keep, and is converted 
into the mixture by adding to water in the proportion of 5j (by 
weight) to each flj. 

Milk of assafoetida is much prescribed and extensively used as a 
domestic remedy. Dose, from fjj to flss. 

No. 76. — " Chloroform Paregoric" of Dr. Henry Hartshorne. 

Take of Chloroform, 

Tincture of opium, 

" of camphor, 
Arom. spt. of ammonia, of each . . f5iss. 

Oil of cinnamon gtt. iij. 

Brandy f5ij. 

Dose, f5ss, or less in spasmodic affections of the stomach, cholera, 
&c. Several practitioners have used this preparation with favor- 
able results in severe cases. 

30 



466 liquid prepaeations, solutions, mixtures, etc. 

Narcotics. 

No. 77. — Liquor Morphias Sulphatis, U. S. 

Reduced. 
Take of Sulphate of morphia . . gr. viij gr. j. 

Distilled water . . . Oss. fsj. 

Dissolve the morphia in the distilled water. This is an illustra- 
tion of the most convenient method of giving small doses of soluble 
substances; here the proportions are so adjusted, that each tea- 
spoonful shall represent ^ gr. of morphia, which is a rather small 
dose. 

A favorite prescription for after-pains in obstetric practice, is a 
solution of sulphate of morphia in camphor water, in the same pro- 
portion as the above. Dose, the same. 

Arterial and Nervous Sedatives. 
No. 78. — A good Anti-Fever Combination. 





In each, f^j. 


B. — Vini antimonii, 


"1 viij. 


Spt. astheris nit., aa . . fsss 


^ viij. 


Tinct. digitalis . . . f^j 


*l ij. 


Syr. acidi citrici . . . foiij 




Misce. 




Sig. — Take a teaspoonful every 3 or 4 hours. 





No. 79. — Remedy in Pulmonary and Catarrhal Diseases, &c., 
Unattended by Fever. 



B. — Acidi hydrocyanic 
Vini antimonii 
Syrupi tolutana 
Mucil. acaciai 



gtt. xl 

fass. 

foiss. 

fiij. 

M., fiat mistura, capiat cochl. parvum ter quarterve die. 

This, with several similar combinations of hydrocyanic acid, is 
highly recommended by Dr. Horace Green, and published by him 
among his selections from favorite prescriptions collected from dis- 
tinguished American physicians, in a scrap-book kept for the pur- 
pose. Rendered much more dilute, this is recommended as the best 
of remedies for hooping-cough. 

Cathartics. 
No. 80. — Castor Oil Mixture. 
Take of Gum Arabic, in powder, 

Sugar, of each .... 3iij- 
Oil of mint . . . • . gtt. iv. 



CATHARTICS. 467 

Triturate into a uniform powder, and add water f3vj, or sufficient 
to bring the mucilage to the consistence of castor oil, then add, by 
degrees, castor oil f^j, continuing the trituration till it combines 
into a perfect emulsion. Dilute this by adding water sufficient to 
make fgiv. 

This will make a perfect castor oil emulsion. If oil of turpen- 
tine is to be incorporated with it, let it be added to the mixed gum 
and sugar, before introducing the water and oil, or let it be first 
perfectly mixed with the castor oil. If laudanum, or some car- 
minative and coloring adjuvant is desirable, it may be added at the 
time of bottling. In no case should the oil be introduced into the 
bottle until combined with the other ingredients, as a portion will 
then adhere to the sides, and be imperfectly incorporated with the 
gum. Each tablespoonful of this mixture contains f3j of oil, and 
may be given every hour till the desired effect is produced. 

Several demulcent mixtures — as those of olive oil, almond oil, 
&c. — may be made upon this model. Copaiva mixture, introduced 
among the diuretics, may have a similar composition. The propor- 
tion of gum and sugar to the oily ingredient (3iij each, to flj) should 
be remembered, as it applies equally to the other cases named. 

Taraxacum and other Mixtures. 

By the judicious admixture of the fluid extracts of taraxacum, 
senna, &c, with saliflfe cathartics, some excellent purgative combi- 
nations may be formed. 

No. 81. — A good Antibilious Mixture. 

B. — Carbo ligni 3j- 

. Sodas bicarb 3ss. 

Mass hydrargyri . . . . gr. viij. 

Syrupi rhei aromat fSi.j. 

Aquas flij. 

Triturate together into a uniform mixture. Dose, a tablespoonful. 

This was furnished by Dr. John D. Grriscom, who finds it to 
meet a very common indication in general practice. 

No. 82. — A good Magnesia Mixture for Children. 

Take of Magnesia (Husband's) . . . 3j. 
Powd. gum Arabic . . . 3ss. 

Triturate together, and add 

Aromat. syrup of rhubarb . . f 3iij. 
Fennel-seed water .... f^iss. 

A teaspoonful is an appropriate dose. To this mixture may be 
added, say gr. xv of- mercurial mass, which should be triturated 



468 LIQUID PREPARATIONS, SOLUTIONS, MIXTURES, ETC. 

with the powder, and, if required, the addition of say ^Iviij of 
laudanum, or f3j of paregoric. The precaution of shaking up 
before administering should not be overlooked. 

No. 83. — Extemporaneous Cream of Tartar Draught. 

Take of Tartaric acid ^\k. 

Water fsvj. 

Make solution, and label No. 1. 

Bicarb, potassa 3iv. 

Water fsvj. 

Make solution, and label No. 2. 

Mix from one to two tablespoonfuls of No. 1 with the same 
quantity of No. 2, and drink immediately. In this way, the bitart- 
rate of potassa is obtained in solution, although, if the mixture be 
allowed to stand a few minutes, it will deposit the salt in a white 
crystalline powder. 

The following soluble powders may not inappropriately be in- 
troduced here. 

No. 84. — Aperient Seidlitz Powders. 

Take of Bicarbonate of soda . . . 9ij. 
Tartrate of potassa and soda . 3U- 
Mix, and fold in blue paper. 

Tartaric acid . . . . gr. xxxv. 
Fold in white paper. 

Directions for use. — Take two glasses, with about a gill of cold 
water in each; dissolve in one the contents of the blue and in the 
other of the white paper. Mix, and drink immediately. 

Diuretics. 
No. 85. — Emulsion of Fluid Extract of Culebs. 

Take of Fluid ext. of cubebs . . . gtt. cxx. 

Yelk of egg .... one. 

Sugar, powdered . . . 3ij. 

Mint water sufficient to make a . f|iij mixture. 

Triturate the fluid extract with the powdered sugar and yelk of 
egg, and then dilute with the water. Direct a teaspoonful four 
times a day. 

This may be made by substituting 3ij powdered gum Arabic, 
and 3j sugar, for the yelk of egg. It is a fine stimulant to the 



DIURETICS. 469 

mucous surfaces, adapted to catarrhs, &c, as well as to urinary dis- 
eases. The dose is f3j, containing "iv of the oleo-resin of cubebs. 

No. 86. — Alkaline Copaiva Mixture. 

R. — Copaibse, 

Liq. potassse, aa f5ij. 

Pulv. acacias, 

" sacchari, aa . . . 3ij. 
Aq. menth. virid. . . . q. s. ut fiat f 3iv. 

Mix the copaiva and solution of potassa, add the water, and 
triturate with the gum and sugar. 

In this prescription, which is prescribed by my friend, Dr. "Wil- 
liam Hunt, the copaiva is combined into a soap with the alkali, and 
would be perfectly suspended without the aid of gum and sugar, 
which are added to obtund the acrid taste. Of course, oil of cubebs, 
tincture of opium, and other adjuvants, may be added if required. 
The usual method of suspending copaiva is similar to that given in 
prescription No. 80. The dose is a tablespoonful, containing vixv 
of copaiva. 

No. 87. — Extemporaneous Solution of Acetate of Potassa. 

Take of Acetic acid .... f3vj. 

Water f^iij. 

Potass, bicarb. . . . 3iijss, or sufficient 
to form a neutral solution. 

This is designed to obviate the necessity of weighing the very 
deliquescent acetate of potassa, and will contain, to each f3j, about 
ten grains of the salt, which is an appropriate dose. The admixture 
of fluid extract of taraxacum, or of buchu, or of spirit of nitric ether, 
will be appropriate in certain cases. 

No. 88. — Scudamords Mixture for Gout. 

R. — Sulphate of magnesia . . . . §j. 

Mint water fix. 

Vinegar of colchicum .... f^j. 
Syrup of saffron . . . . f^j. 

Magnesia 3ij, 9ij. 

Mix. 
Dose, one to three tablespoonfuls every two hours till four to six 
evacuations are procured in the twenty-four hours. 

No. 89. — Dewees 1 Colchicum Mixture. 

R. — Wine of colchicum seed . . . gtt. xxx. 

Denarcotized laudanum . . . gtt. xxv. 

Sugar gr. xxx. 

Water Oj. 

Mix. To be taken at night in one draught. 



470 liquid preparations, solutions, mixtures, etc. 

Diaphoretics. 
No. 90. — Liquid Substitute for Dover's Powder. 

B. — Vin. ipecac *lxvj. 

Tinct. opii ni x iij. 

Spirit, setheris nit f3j. 

Mix. 

Sig. — Take at one dose at going to bed. 

No. 91. — Liquor Potassoe, Citratis, U. S. {Neutral Mixture, or Saline 
Draught.) 

Reduced. 

Take of Fresh lemon-juice . . . Oss f s'w. 
Bicarbonate of potassa . . q. s. q. s. 

Add the bicarbonate to the lemon-juice till it is perfectly saturated, 
then filter, or 

Reduced. 

Take of Citric acid 3ss. 3ij. 

Oil of lemons . . . . "i ij. n^ j. 

Water Oss. f|iv. 

Bicarbonate of potassa . . . q. s. q. s. 

Eub the citric acid with the oil of lemon, and afterwards with the 
water till it is dissolved, then add the bicarbonate gradually till the 
acid is perfectly saturated ; lastly, filter. 

The lemon-juice may be obtained by cutting and expressing the 
lemon either with the fingers or a lemon-squeezer, and the little 
strainer, Fig. 212, which will set into the top of the graduated mea- 

Fie. 212. 




sure or of a beaker glass, Fig. 213, will serve to separate the seed 
or any portion of the pulp of the lemon. Care must be taken in 
adding the bicarbonate to use a glass rod, porcelain spatula, silver 
spoon, or similar utensil which will not corrode or impart a metallic 
taste to the preparation. It will also facilitate the operation of 
saturating the acid to triturate the crystals of bicarbonate in a dry 
mortar into a powder before adding it little by little to the liquid. 
The delay of filtering through paper may be very much obviated 



DIAPHOKETICS. 471 

by using a fine linen strainer, or by plugging the base of the glass 
funnel, Fig. 214, with some cotton, and pouring the liquid through 
it into the containing vial ; it is an object to conduct this operation 

Fig. 213. Fig. 214. 





quickly, so as to retain and bottle up as much as possible the car- 
bonic acid gas liberated in the reaction. There is another point 
worth attention; in making the solution by the second process with 
citric acid, it is well to weigh the bicarbonate beforehand, and then 
the whole amount being added there will be no doubt as to the 
exact saturation of the acid ; this is not practicable in the lemon- 
juice process, as there is no certainty as to its strength ; the proper 
proportion of bicarbonate, to the Iss (240 grs.) of citric acid, is 336 
grains ; or to the 5ij of acid, 168 grains, or about 3ij, 9ij ; a propor- 
tion which it is well to remember, as it comes in play in all the other 
processes. It has always been my custom to cease the addition of 
the alkaline carbonate before it becomes perfectly saturated, or 
rather to err on the side of acidity than that of alkalinity. A slight 
excess of alkali may render the solution quite disagreeable, while, 
on the other hand, the excess of acid should be extremely small. 
This prolific subject will be concluded by presenting the following 
additional formulas : — 







Reduced. 


>. 92. — Take of Citrate of potassa 


• 3vj 


3iij. 


Water 


. Oss 


fgiv. 


Sugar 


. 5ss 


gr. xv. 


Oil of lemon 


. *lj 


gtt.j. 


Make a solution. 







Here there is no effervescence, and, consequently, no carbonic acid 
in the solution. In other respects it is the best recipe, because so 
perfectly neutral and so readily made. The sugar may be omitted 
or not, at pleasure, but seems to me to improve it. 

The following recipe is that of my friend, Ambrose Smith : — 

No. 93. — To Make Effervescing Neutral Mixture Extemporaneously. 

Reduced. 

Take of Bicarbonate of potassa . . fiij 3vj. 

Citric acid . . . . iij, 3iij Iss, 9ij, gr. v. 

Sugar 3iss 3iij. 

Oil of lemon .... gtt. xvj ^ iv. 



472 LIQUID PREPARATIONS, SOLUTIONS, MIXTURES, ETC. 

Mix thoroughly and reduce to a uniform powder, and keep in a 
well-stopped bottle. To make neutral mixture dissolve 3yj, 9j in 
Oss water (5iij, gr. x to fsiv) ; this proportion, however, is some- 
what less than the strength of the lemon-juice saturated with bicar- 
bonate of potassa, and is graduated to suit the views of many prac- 
titioners. 

No. 94. — Effervescing Draught. 

Take of Bicarbonate of potassa . . 5ij to 3ij. 

"Water fsiv. 

Make a solution. 

Directions. — Take a tablespoonful of lemon-juice diluted with a 
tablespoonful of water, and add to it in a tumbler a tablespoonful of 
this solution, then drink immediately ; or thus — 

Take of Citric acid 3iij- 

Oil of lemon "Ij. 

Water fsiv. 

Make a solution and label No. 1 ; the acid solution. 

Take of Bicarbonate of potassa . . . 3ij, 9ij- 

Sugar 3j. 

Water fsiv. 

Make a solution and label No. 2 ; the alkaline solution. 

Directions. — To a tablespoonful of No. 1, add a tablespoonful of 
water, and to the mixture, in a clean tumbler, add a tablespoonful 
of No. 2 ; drink immediately. 

No. 95. — Effervescing Fever Powders. 

Take of Citric acid, dried and powdered, 3 v. 
Divide into twelve parts wrapped in white writing paper. 

Take of Bicarbonate of potassa, dried and powdered, 3viss. 
Divide into twelve parts, wrapped in blue paper. 

Inclose these white and blue powders alternately in a tin box. 

Directions. — Dissolve the contents of a white paper in a tumbler, 
one-third full of cold water, then stir in the contents of a blue paper 
and drink immediately. 

A dose is usually given every two or three hours, during the pre- 
valence of the fever. 

The various forms of citrate of potassa, which are now described, 
constitute favorite remedies in fever; sometimes spirit of nitric 
ether, tartar emetic, tincture of digitalis, or other remedies are added 
to them. The effervescing draught is said to be the best way to 
give alterative or sedative doses of tartar emetic when the stomach 
is irritable. 

Soda and yeast powders may be introduced here, although not 
strictly belonging to the class under consideration. 



EXPECTORANTS. 473 

No. 96. — Carbonated Soda Powders. 
For making a draught of soda water extemporaneously. 

Take of Bicarbonate of soda gr. xxiij. Fold in a blue paper. 
Tartaric acid . . gr. xx. Fold in a white paper. 

Directions for use. — Dissolve one of the powders contained in the 
white and blue papers in separate tumblers, each nearly half full of 
water (spring water is preferable), stir them up for a few seconds, 
to render the solution complete, then mix their contents and drink 
immediately. A little syrup may be added to one or both of the 
glasses before mixing. These are usually put into boxes contain- 
ing twelve of each kind of powders. 

Yeast Powders. 

A substitute for yeast in making batter cakes, having the ad- 
vantage of making the batter perfectly light and ready for baking 
without delay, and greatly diminishing the liability to become sour. 
Many dyspeptics, who cannot tolerate fresh light cakes when made 
with yeast, can eat them with impunity when raised in this way. 

Fold in a blue paper Bicarbonate of soda . . 120 grs. 
" in a white paper Tartaric acid . . . 100 grs. 

Directions for use. — Put the contents of a white and blue paper 
into separate teacups filled with water, and stir until perfectly dis- 
solved. Mix a sufficient quantity of batter for six or eight persons 
a little thicker than usual, to allow for the liquid in which the pow- 
ders are dissolved ; and when ready for baking stir in well the 
contents of one teacup, then add the other and stir it well, and 
commence baking immediately. 

A more economical way, and sufficiently accurate in view of the 
harmlessness of the ingredients, is to keep supplies of the bicarbon- 
ate of soda and tartaric acid in separate bottles, which will insure 
their perfect dryness, and then when wanted for use take a small 
teaspoonful of each, and dissolve as above. The equivalent weights 
of these ingredients, as given above, have very nearly the same 
bulk. If bitartrate of potassa is substituted for tartaric acid, it 
must be used in about twice the quantity, and being insoluble, 
must be suspended in water and thoroughly stirred in. 

Expectorants, &c. 
No. 97. — Mistura Ammoniaci, U. S. {Lac Ammoniac) 

Take of Ammoniac 3ij. 

"Water Oss. 

Eub the ammoniac with the water, gradually added, until they 
are thoroughly mixed. 



474 LIQUID PREPARATIONS, SOLUTIONS, MIXTURES, ETC. 



No. 98. — Mistura Gtycyrrhizce Comptosita, 


U. S. {Brown Mixture.) 




Reduced. 


Take of Liquorice, in powder 


3j. 


Gum Arabic " 


3j. 


Sugar, each 


. Sss 3j. 


Camph. tincture of opium 


. f Jij f3ss. 


Antimonial wine 


• fsj f5ij- 


Spirit of nitric ether 


. fsss f5j. 


Water .... 


. foxij f3iij. 



Rub the liquorice, gum Arabic, and sugar with the water, gradu- 
ally poured upon them ; then add the other ingredients, and mix. 

The dose of this very popular cough medicine is a tablespoonful, 
or for children f3j. 

No. 99. — Mistura Amygdala, U.S. 

Take of Sweet almonds 3ss. 

Gum Arabic 3ss. 

Sugar 5ij. 

Distilled water f.5viij. 

..acerate the almonds in water, and, having removed their ex- 
•nal coat, beat them with the gum Arabic and sugar in a marble 
rtar till they are thoroughly mixed ; then rub the mixture with 
i_e distilled water, gradually added, and strain. 

This mixture is introduced here, though not belonging appro- 
priately to either of the therapeutical classes. Its chief use is as a 
vehicle for substances to be used in the liquid form ; it may be 
well substituted by Syrupus Amygdala, for most purposes. 

No. 100. — A good Cough Mixture. 
B. — Syrupus tolutanus, 

u ipecacuanha?, iia . . . f5j. 

Pulv. acaciie 3j- 

Tinct. opii camph., 

" lobelia.-, au fSiij- 

Aquae sj. 

Triturate the gum and water together, and add the other ingredi- 
ents in the vial. Dose, a teaspoonful. 

This was furnished by Dr. S. W. Butler, of Burlington, N. J., 
who has used it with great satisfaction. 

No. 101. — A Cough Mixture of Acetone, Wine of Tar, &c. 

B. — Acetone f3j- 

Camph. tinct. of opium, 

Antimonial wine, of each . . f.fj. 

Wine of tar (Jew's beer) . . f sij. 
Mix. Dose, a teaspoonful. 
Often prescribed by Dr. Washington L. Atlee. 



EXPECTORANTS, ETC. 475 

No. 102. — Spermaceti Mixture. 

Take of Spermaceti 3\j- 

Olive oil 5j- 

Powd. gum Arabic .... 3ss. 

Water fiiv. 

Triturate the spermaceti with the oil, until reduced to a paste, 
then add the gum, and lastly the water, gradually. Dose, f 3j. 

No. 103. — Hooping- Cough Mixture. 

R. — Carbonate of potassa . . . 9j. 

Powdered cochineal . . . 9ss. 

Sugar 3j. 

Water fgiv. 

Make a mixture. Dose for children, f 5j, every two or three 
hours. 

An old and very popular remedy. 

No. 104. — For Hooping- Cough. (By Golding Bird.) - , 

R. — Aluminis . . . . . gr. xxiv. 

Ext. conii . . . . . gr. xij. 

Aq. anethi (vel fceniculi) . . f^iij. 

Syrup, papav flij. — M. 

Sig. — For an adult, a dessertspoonful every six hours. 

No. 105. — Tolu Cough Mixture. 

B. — Syr. scilke fgj. 

Pulv, acacise, 

Sacchari, aa 3iij- 

Aquse ...... f\lyj. 

Tinct. tolutani .... f3ij. 

Misce secundem artem. Dose, f 3j. 

No. 106. — Cod-liver Oil and Biniodide of Mercury. 

Take of Ped iodide of mercury . . . gr. viij. 
Cod-liver oil . . . . . Oj. 

Triturate together. 

This forms a clear solution, and each tablespoonful dose contains 
\ gr. biniodide of mercury. This is a combination occasionally 
indicated. Iodine itself is sometimes given in the oil, and from ^ 
to \ grain to f 5j, makes a good addition in certain cases. 

The mode of administering the fixed oils may here claim atten- 
tion. None of the modes of compounding these materially improve 



476 EXTERNAL APPLICATIONS. 

their taste, but by observing to prevent their contact with the 
mouth in swallowing, the chief objection to them is obviated. This 
may be variously accomplished by enveloping them in the froth of 
fermented liquors, or by pouring them into a glass partially filled 
with iced water, or an aromatized water, so that no portion of the 
oil shall touch or adhere to the sides of the glass. When mineral 
water is convenient, it furnishes, with sarsaparilla syrup, one of the 
best vehicles for castor or cod-liver oil ; there should be but little 
water drawn, but it should be thrown up as much as possible into 
froth. 

Alterative preparations are much made by the addition to the 
various iodine, mercurial, and other alterative salts, of the Galenical 
preparations of sarsaparilla, conium, &c. As a general rule, these 
salts are incompatible with each other ; those which are insoluble 
are generally conveniently prescribed with iodide of potassium, 
which is, in fact, one of their most natural associated solvents. (See 
Syrups.) 



CHAPTER IV. 

EXTERNAL APPLICATIONS, &c. 

Lotions, Collyria, Injections, Gargles, Baths, Inhalations, 
Cerates, Ointments, Liniments, and Plasters. 

TnE preparation of these classes requires no different manipula- 
tions from the foregoing; indeed they are, for the most part, simple 
solutions prepared without any particular skill. 

Soluble salts, chiefly of the astringent class, dissolved in distilled 
water, or in distilled rose-water, designed for external application, 
constitute lotions, or washes; these are to be applied to the surface, 
usually upon a folded piece of muslin or lint, chiefly for cooling and 
astringent purposes. Lead-water (page 391) is the only officinal 
lotion. Vinegar and water, or water alone, is applied for the same 
purposes. In various chronic skin diseases, lotions containing sul- 
phuret of potassium, chloride of zinc, corrosive chloride of mercury, 
borax, solution of chlorinated soda, and other chemical agents are 
employed. Glycerin, by its solubility in water, and its emollient 
properties, is well adapted to this form of application. The recipes 
appended are selected as illustrations of this class; they are all 
well-known preparations. 



EXTERNAL APPLICATION'S. 477 





No. 107.- 


— Creasote Lotion. 






Mix. 


R. — Creasoti 
Aceti . 
Aquae 


. 


gtt. X. 

f5ij. 




Applied to phagedenic ulceration, chancres, and a variety of 


sores. 



No. 108. — Yellow Wash. (Aqzice Phagcedenica.) 

R. — Hydrargyri chloridi corrosivi . gr. xvj. 
Liquoris calcis .... flviij. 
Mix. 

The binoxide of mercury is precipitated as a yellow powder, and 
diffused through the liquid ; sometimes the proportion is diminished 
to gr. j in each fl. It is a very popular application to certain skin 
affections and to venereal sores. 

No. 109.— Black Wash. 

R. — Hydrargyri chloridi mitis . . 3j. 
Liquoris calcis . . • . . f |iv. 
Mix. 

Protoxide of mercury is here thrown down by the lime as a 
black precipitate, though there is quite an excess of calomel. It 
has similar applications to the foregoing. 

No. 110. — Granville's Counter-irritant, or Antidynous Lotions. 
The mild:— 



R. — Liquoris ammonias fortioris 


. fSj. 


Spiritus rosmarini 


• f3vj. 


TincturEe camphorse . 


. f3ij. 


Misce. 




No. 111. The strong :— 




R. — Liquoris ammonias fortioris 


. f3x. 


Spiritus rosmarini 


. f3iv. 


Tincturse camphoras 


• f3ij- 


Misce. 





These preparations will blister in periods varied from two to ten 
minutes, by saturating with them a piece of linen folded five or 
six times over a coin, and pressing it upon the part. Over more 
extended surfaces, a similar method is adopted by protecting the 
lotion from evaporation. 

COLLYRIA. 

Collyria are lotions for application to the eye, called eye-washes. 
They are generally composed of astringent salts, as sulphate or 
acetate of zinc, sulphate of copper, or of iron or nitrate of silver, 



478 EXTERNAL APPLICATIONS. 

the proportion seldom exceeding gr. viij to f^j. A good prescrip- 
tion is appended. 

No. 112— -4 good Eye- Water. 

Take of Sulphate of zinc, 

Chloride of sodium, each . . . 9j. 
Eose-water (distilled) . . . f |j. 

Make a solution and apply, suitably diluted, to inflamed eyes. 

The infusion of sassafras pith is a good addition to this and simi- 
lar eye-washes. The aqueous extract, or the wine of opium, is 
much used in collyria. 

Injections. 

Injections are solutions intended to be thrown into the external 
ear, the urethra, bladder, vagina, &c. They resemble the foregoing 
class in composition and in strength. In gonorrhoea, the use of in- 
jections of the astringent metallic salts is very common, as also of 
vegetable astringents. It will not be important in this work to give 
formulas for any of the numerous injections used for these purposes. 

The custom of injecting tepid water and various bland liquids 
into the rectum, for the relief of costiveness, has become exceed- 
ingly common of latter years, and the forms of apparatus contrived 
are numerous and ingenious, constituting a considerable article of 
trade with druggists and apothecaries. 

Gargles. 

Gargles and month-washes are applications much used in the 
treatment of so-called sore throat, and in scorbutic affections of the 
gums, which are exceedingly common and are popularly treated by 
counter-irritation, and by the use of astringent and stimulating 
gargles. Infusions of capsicum, of vegetable astringents, and of 
sage, with the addition of alum, borax, or sulphate of zinc, and 
almost invariably honey, are the prevailing remedies of this class. 
A single recipe may be given. 

Xo. 113. — For a good Gargle and Month- Wash. 

B. — Sodas boratis 3j. 

Aquas rosae ffij. 

Mellis f.5j. 

Misce et adde 

R. — Tincturse myrrhse .... f.^ss. 

" capsici f 3ij. 

Use as a gargle every two or three hours, diluted with water. 

Baths. 

Baths are either hot, warm, tepid, or cold, or consist in the appli- 
cation of vapor merely. They are variously medicated for the 



PRESCRIPTION FOR INHALATION. 



479 



Fig. 215. 



treatment of diseases of the skin, and for producing general or 
local revulsive effects. They possess little strictly pharmaceutical 
interest. 

Inhalations. 

Inhalation has lately become a good deal resorted to as a remedy 
in chronic catarrhs, bronchitis, incipient phthisis, &c. I have re- 
peatedly prepared the apparatus and furnished the ingredients for 
the following : — 

No. 114. — Prescription for Inhalation. 

Into an inhaler of glass put infusuni humuli, U. S., f^iv, at a 
temperature of about 120° F., and add liq. iodinii compositus, "ixx. 
Inhale from five to ten minutes, morning and evening. 

In acute cases, this is found to give great relief, and by continued 
application produces most happy restorative effects. In place of 
Lugol's solution, it has been suggested to use an ethereal or chloro- 
form tincture of iodine, adding a little 
iodide of potassium to prevent pre- 
cipitation on adding it to the hop- 
tea, or other aqueous liquid. 

Fig. 215 exhibits two forms of in- 
haling apparatus; tl*e lower one is 
adapted to this use. An ordinary 
wide-mouth packing bottle is fitted 
with a cork which is perforated by 
the cork -borer or rat-tail file (see Figs. 
169 and 170, page 220), so as to admit 
of two tubes, the smaller for the in- 
gress of air passing nearly to the 
bottom of the bottle, while the larger, 
which is bent to be applied to the 
mouth, may have its origin just be- 
low the bottom of the cork. A little 
cork may be put into the top of the 
small tube when not in use. In re- 
plenishing the inhaler, before each 
operation, the cork is removed. The 
tube may be bent by softening it over 
the flame of an alcohol lamp or gas- 
furnace, and holding it in such position that its own weight will 
cause it to bend gradually and uniformly to the required curve. 

Cerates and Ointments. 

These classes of preparations are widely separated in the Phar- 
macopoeia, where an alphabetical arrangement is adopted, but they 
so closely resemble each other in a pharmaceutical point of view as 
to be naturally associated in a work like the present. 




480 



EXTERNAL APPLICATIONS. 



The difference between a cerate and an ointment is in their rela- 
tive firmness and fusibility ; the former is designed to be adhesive 
at the temperature of the body, so as to be applied in the form of a 
dressing or sort of plaster; the latter is intended to be rubbed upon 
the surface or applied by inunction ; this distinction is, however, 
not absolute, and the two classes nearly approach each other in pro- 
perties ; the name cerate is derived from cera, wax, and most of the 
cerates, as also some of the ointments, contain this ingredient. 

The medicinal ingredients which enter into these classes of pre- 
parations are very numerous; indeed, almost every kind of medicine 
capable of exercising a topical effect may be prescribed in this form. 
The unctuous ingredients used in ointments are chiefly bland and 
unirritating fats and fixed oils, with more or less wax ; the reader 
is referred, for some account of these, to pages 271 — 276. 

Lard and suet resemble each other in most of their properties 
except that the latter is more solid and fuses at a higher tempera- 
ture, while spermaceti is still more firm, almost brittle inconsistence, 
and fuses with still less facility ; it is recommended by a beautiful 
pearly whiteness which it imparts, to a certain extent, to its oily 
combinations. Wax is more tough in consistence and still less 
fusible, its chief use being to give body to cerates and the stiffer 
ointments. 

The uses of resin and turpentine are twofold, to give body to the 
cerates into which they enter, and to render them useful as stimu- 
lants and fit vehicles for other stimulating substances. 

The greatest practical difficulty with ointments arises from their 
tendency to become rancid by keeping, par- 
ticularly in warm climates ; this is best over- 
come by observing to free them from unne- 
cessary moisture, and to keep them in well- 
covered jars. The ointment jar, Fig. 216, is 
j frT. . : ^ §B»ft made for the purpose, but as the lid is not 
JL, air-tight, apiece of stout tin foil, or of bladder, 
or of waxed paper, should be stretched over 
the top before covering it with the lid. 

The introduction of benzoic acid or of 
small portions of balsams and essential oils, 
into the melted ointment, seems to have a 
favorable effect upon this tendency ; and it 

(*— __ %_» is observed that the resinous ointments are 

jC^--— - — — —4ja^ not liable to it. 

^ — ~- For the purposes of studj r , the cerates and 

ointments may be thus classified: 1st. Those 
prepared by the fusion of their ingredients 
together, and most of them adapted to serve as vehicles for medi- 
cinal substances. 2d. Those prepared from these first, or from lard 
alone, by mechanical incorporation of the ingredients with some 
active medicinal agent. 3d. Those in which the unctuous ingredient 



Fig. 21G. 





Ointment jar. 



CERATES AND OINTMENTS. 481 

is decomposed in the process of preparation. So great a variety of 
ointments and cerates have been made officinal, that there seems 
less occasion for departing from the national standard than in the 
other classes of extemporaneous preparations. Those which are 
officinal will be presented in syllabi, and a few new remedies with 
their mode of preparation adverted to separately. 

First Class. — Cerates and Ointments, much used as vehicles for 
Medicinal Substances. 

Ceratum Simplex. 1 part white wax, 2 lard. Firmest "healing" dressing. 

Ceratum Cetacei. { l e^iveoiL *" 8 ^^ ^ } Mrm " healing " dressin S- 

Unguentum Simplex. 1 part white wax, 4 lard. Softer " healing" dressing. 

tt a t> f Almond oil, sp. ceti, white) a „ . . iv: ,. „, 

Ung. Aquse Ros*. | wax, rose-water. j Sq/^ "healing" dressing. 

Ceratum Resinse (Ba- f 5 parts resin, 8 parts lard, 2 \ „ . . , 

silicon). \ parts yellow wax. J °" 

All these are simple in their mode of preparation ; the ingredients 
are to be placed in a tin cup or a capsule and brought to the melt- 
ing point, care being taken not to burn them, which may be known 
by the odor and appearance of smoke given off. When there is a 
great difference in the fusing points, the least fusible may be placed 
over the fire first, and the others added afterwards, so as to involve 
no unnecessary application of heat. Then the whole is to be stirred 
or triturated together till they have thickened by cooling into a 
homogeneous soft mass ; it may now be set away to harden by further 
cooling. When rose-water is added, as in the case of cold cream, 
it is well to warm it a little, otherwise it may chill the spermaceti 
to its solidifying point and deposit it in a granular condition before 
the mixed oil and wax are sufficiently stiffened to be homogeneous 
with it. The first four preparations on the above list are distin- 
guished by different degrees of firmness and fusibility ; they are all 
perfectly bland and unirritating, and are used for their property of 
protecting the part to which applied from external irritating causes 
and from the drying action of the air. 

Simple cerate is almost exclusively applied to blistered or other 
raw surfaces as a "healing" dressing; it is not adapted to use as a 
vehicle for medicinal substances to be applied by inunction, nor can 
it be conveniently mixed with powders at ordinary temperatures. 
From overlooking this fact, the mistake is constantly made by phy- 
sicians of prescribing simple cerate as the vehicle for iodine, the 
mercurials, &c; and in view of this, some of the apothecaries make 
it softer, putting in one-fourth instead of one-third wax ; this par- 
tially unfits it for the use for which it is mainly designed, to furnish 
a firm dressing which will not fuse entirely at the temperature of 
the body. 

Simple ointment is designed for the purpose just mentioned as not 
SI 



482 EXTERNAL APPLICATIONS. 

suited to the cerate, that of furnishing, in warm weather, a good 
vehicle for medicines in the form of ointment. In the winter, it is 
frequently substituted by lard when it can be obtained fresh and 
sweet. It is not unusual to add to simple cerate and simple oint- 
ment, when fused in the process of preparing them, a little rose- 
water, and sometimes a very small portion of borax, which renders 
them very white without interfering with their remedial qualities. 

Spermaceti cerate is intermediate between the foregoing, and has 
the advantage of being made without the use of lard, which is some- 
times difficult to procure of good quality. 

Ointment of rose-water, the softest of its class, may be best intro- 
duced by giving the following modified recipe, which produces an 
article superior to that of the Pharmacopoeia : — 

Unguentum Aquoz Rosoz. {Cold Cream) 

Take of White wax gj. 

Oil of almonds f.5iv. 

Rose-water f.sij. 

Borax 3ss. 

Oil of roses ^iv. 

Let the wax be melted and dissolved in the oil of almonds by a 
gentle heat, then dissolve the borax in the rose-water and add the 
solution to the heated oil, stirring constant^ till cool; then add the 
oil of roses, stirring. It is well to warm the rose-water a little, or 
to add it to the ointment before it is much cooled, thus preventing 
any granulation of the wax. 

When properly prepared by this, which is the recipe of Dr. L. 
Turnbull, cold cream is a beautiful, snow white, bland ointment, 
about the consistence of good lard, and an admirable substitute for 
that excipient where expense is no object, and especially for appli 
cations about the face. It is commonly sold as a lip-salve, and at 
a healing application to abraded and chapped surfaces generally. 
The following recipes will produce good substitutes for this, the 
former of a firmer, and the latter of a more fluid consistence : — 

Rose Lip Salve. 

Take of Oil of almonds siij. 

Alkanet 3ij- 

Digest with a gentle heat and strain; then add — 

White wax Siss. 

Spermaceti Sss. 

Melt with the colored oil and stir it until it begins to thicken, 
then add — 

Oil of rose geranium .... gtt. xxiv. 
This may be put into small metallic boxes for the waistcoat 
pocket. 



CERATES AND OINTMENTS. 



f3vj. 

• H 

• 3ij. 

■ Ij- 
then add — 

• fSj. 

. gtt. iv. 
. gtt.v. 

. foSS. 



Milk of Roses for Chapped Hands. 
Take of Almonds, blanched 
Beat to a paste and mis with — 

Rose-water . . . . 
Heat to about 212° ¥., and incorporate with — 
White wax . 
Almond oil . 
White Castile soap 

Melt together and thoroughly incorporate 

Honey water . 
Cologne water 
Oil of bitter almond 
Oil of rose geranium 
Glycerin 

After washing the hands with warm water, and Castile or other 
mild soap, apply the milk of roses, and rub it thoroughly in, then 
wipe them with a dry towel. 

Milk of roses is adapted to being put up in rather wide-mouth 
vials, and is directed to be applied to chapped hands, or other ex- 
coriated parts. 

Resin cerate, or hasilicon, differs from the foregoing in being com- 
posed of stimulating substances ; it is much used as a dressing to 
blistered surfaces with a view to keeping up the discharge, and is 
also a good vehicle for other stimulating substances, as savine, 
Spanish flies, &c. 

Second CLASS. — Those in which the Medicinal Substance is mechani- 
cally mixed with the Unctuous Ingredient. 

Group I. — Incorporated by Fusion, &c. 

« . t. • n f Resin ; suet ; yellow wax , tur- 1 „,. , , . 

Cerat. Beams Comp. | peniine ; flaxseed oil. [Stimulating. 

Unguent. Picis Liq. Tar and suet equal parts, Stimulating ; antiseptic. 
Ceratum Cantharidis, 



j Canth. 12 parts ; lard 10 parts ; 
\ y. wax, resin, each 7 parts. 



Epispastic (Blistering Ce- 
rate). 



Compound resin cerate, or Deshler's salve, is both firmer and more 
stimulating than basilicon ; it is used for similar purposes in burns, 
scalds, &c. ; it is too firm for ready incorporation with dry powders, 
and is mostly used by itself. 

Tar ointment, which is made by melting suet, and, while it is fluid, 
stirring into it an equal weight of tar until it cools and thickens, 
is used in scald head and various scaly eruptions with excellent 
effects 



48-i EXTERNAL APPLICATIONS. 

Blistering Cerate. {Cerate of Spanish Flies.) 

This well-known preparation is conveniently made by melting 
together in a tin cup, lard, wax, and resin, and sifting into the 
fused mass powdered Spanish flies ; continuing the heat for half an 
hour, and then removing from the fire and stirring till cool ; the 
active principle of the flies, cantharidin, is extracted to a great 
extent by this digestion in the grease, and the powder itself is also 
retained and adds to the effect of the preparation. This is some- 
times kept in jars, and sometimes, by increasing the proportion of 
wax and resin, a very little is made firm enough to roll out into 
rolls like other plasters. Blistering cerate, when ordered in pre- 
scription as a cerate to be dispensed by weight and spread at the 
bedside of the patient, is ordered by its officinal name given in the 
syllabus ; when designed to be spread as a plaster, it is called eviplas- 
trum ejv'sj-iasficum, the size being generally conveyed thus, 3x6 
(meaning three inches wide by six long), or any other size desired, 
or a pattern may accompany, giving the shape and size. Sometimes 
the purpose for which required is expressed, and the precise size and 
shape are left to the pharmaceutist; at others, it is left optional with 
the attendant whether to spread the blister himself, or to have it 
spread at the shop by a prescription like the following: K. — Cerati 
cantharidis q. s., ut fiat emplastrum epispasticum 3 X 0. 

The best material for spreading the blister is, I think, adhesive 
plaster cloth ; if a wide margin is left, it is readily made to adhere 
by warming the margin over a lighted lamp and pressing it care- 
fully on to the part. It should also be so incised from the edges 
inward as to be readily adapted to the inequalities of the surface to 
which applied. Kid or split sheep skin also answers a good pur- 
pose, in which case the margin is made very narrow, and three or 
four strips, about half an inch wide, of adhesive plaster are warmed 
and drawn over the outside to hold it in its place. 

Fig. L'17 is a pattern for a pair of blisters to be applied behind 

Fig. 217. 





the ears : care must be taken to have these the reverse of each other, 
or, after they are spread, it may be found they both fit the same ear. 
It is well, in the case of these, to leave the margin much the widest 



BLISTERS. 



485 



at the part furthest from the ear and below, where the hair will not 
interfere with its adhesion. 

The mode of spreading blisters is too simple to require comment ; 
in cold weather, or when the cerate is very stiff, I use the thumb, 
which makes a smooth and very neat surface ; a spatula slightly 
warmed answers Very well. After the blister is spread, it is well to 
paint over its surface with ethereal tincture of cantharides, which 
increases its activity, or to lay a piece of tissue paper over its whole 
surface, and coat this with the ethereal tincture. 

It is considered a good precaution to remove the blister as soon as 
it has thoroughly reddened the skin, and then to apply a cataplasm 
of bread and milk, elm bark, or ground flaxseed, to raise the skin. 
A blistering plaster usually requires from six to twelve hours to 
raise the skin. 



Fig. 219. 



Blistering Collodion. 

Take of Spanish flies, in powder . Ij. 

Ether §iv, or q. s. 

Alcohol f5j. 

Prepared cotton . . . q. s. 

Treat the flies with the ether by displacement, and having ob- 
tained a saturated tincture, or nearly so, evaporate it to flij, and 
dissolve the cotton in it. Fig. 218 repre- 
sents the syringe pattern displacer, which Fl &- 21 * 
is very convenient for this purpose, for 
small operations ; a cork may be fitted, 
not too tightly, in the top, or it may be 
covered by a little piece of tinfoil, and in- 
serted in a common vial. Fig. 219 shows 
the collodion vial, arranged with a camel- 
hair brush, and well-suited to contain this 
preparation. The great merit of blistering 
collodion is its applicability to circum- 
scribed surfaces, the fact that it requires 
no covering of any kind, and that it can- 
not be improperly removed by the pa- 
tient, as in cases of insanity, &c. Its ac- 
tion is greatly hastened by repeating the 
application till the coating is thick, and 
covering the pellicle before it is dry with 
a piece of oiled silk or bladder. (For an 
account of prepared cotton, see pages 235 
to 243.) 

The different blistering tissues are, I 
believe, all made by extracting cantha- 
ridin from the flies with ether or oil of Small syringe pattern 

, „ , displacer. 

turpentine, and forming it into a plaster, 

which is then spread on paper, silk, or other suitable fabric. Brown's 




486 



EXTERNAL APPLICATIONS. 



cantharidin tissue is an admirable article, and a most convenient 
substitute for the old-fashioned blister. 



Cerat. Sabinae. 
Ung. Gallse. 
Ung. Yeratri Alb. 
Cerat. Calaminae. 
Cerat. Zinci Carb. 
Ung. Zinci Oxidi. 
Ung. Cupri Subacet. 
Ung. Antimonii. 
Ung. Hydrargyri. 
Ung. Hydrar. Ammon. 
L T Dg. Hydr. Oxid. Rub. 
Ung. Iodinii. 
Ung. Iodinii Corap. 
Ung. Potassii Iodid. 
Ung. Tlunibi Carb. 
Ung. Sulphuris. 

Ung. Sulphuris Comp. 

Ung. Belladonnre. 
Ung. Stramonii. 
Ung. Creasoti. 



Group II. — Incorporated by Trituration, 

J 1 part powdered savin. 
\ 6 parts resin cerate. 

f 1 part powdered galls. 

L 7 parts lard. 

f 1 part powdered root. 

I 4 parts lard and oil lemon 

f 3 iij calamine. 
\Lard = xij ; wax ~iij. 

f 1 part ZbO.CO,. 
\ 5 parts simple ointment. 

( 1 part ZnO. 
\ G parts lard. 

f 1 part 2CuO,A"c,0HO. 
\ 15 parts simple ointment. 



"I Stimulating dressing applied 
J to blisters. 

| Astringent, used in piles. 
J- Specific in itch. 
I Mild astringent and desiccant. 
I Mild astringent and desiccant. 



J 1 part KO,8bO f ,2T. 

( 4 parte lard. 

-j Equal parts Hg, and lard. 

f 1 part BgCl,N0 8 . 

I 12 ]>;irt< simple ointment, 
i 1 part HgO a . 

\ 8 parts simple ointment. 
j 1 part I ; I parts KI. 
\ 24 parts lard. 
/ 1 part I ; 2 parts KI. 
"( 32 parts lard. 

f 1 part KI+l part Aq. 
\ 8 parts laid. 
/ 1 part PbO,C0 2 . 

( •', parts simple ointment. 

I 1 part S. 

i 2 parte lard. 

I Sulphur gj. 
A in moii. iiktc. :y. 
Bern, acid ,~.i. 
Oil bergam. fgj. 

| Sulph. acid fsjj. 

| Nit. potass. 5ij. 

! Lard ^vj. 

f 1 part extract. 
\ 8 parts lard. 
j 1 part extract. 
\ 8 parts lard. 

f Creasote f ^ss. 
I Lard §j. 



I Mild astringent and desiccant. 

Mild escharotic. 

1 Vesicant, producing pustular 
I eruptions. 

1 Alterative, used to produce 
i mercurial impression. 

■ Alterative, desiccant. 
.- Stimulating, alterative. 
> Discutient, alterative. 



J- Discutient, alterative. 
■ Discutient, alterative. 
- Astringent and desiccant. 



Specific in itch. 



j- Specific in itch. 



- Anodyne. 



Anodyne. 

Antiseptic, mild escharotic. 



It would extend this chapter beyond the limit laid down, to dwell 
in detail upon each of these numerous officinal triturated ointments. 
They may be made in a mortar with the use of the pestle, or on a 
tile or slab with a spatula. The medicinal ingredient should be 
invariably in a very fine powder before incorporating it with the 
ointment ; in a few instances, it is found necessary to soften the latter 
beforehand by a moderate heat. 

Ointment of galls may be well substituted by an ointment of tan- 
nic acid in the proportion of about 9j to 3j. 



CEEATES AND OINTMENTS. 487 

The following is recommended as a compound adapted to treat- 
ing piles : — 

No. 115. — Pile Ointment. 

Take of Tannic acid Jss. 

Liniment of subacetate of lead . . f 3SS. 1 
Simple ointment .... 3vij. 

Triturate the tannic acid first with the liniment, and then incor- 
porate with the ointment. 

Cerate of calamine is a modification of Turner's cerate, an old and 
highly approved astringent and desiccant, used especially in treat- 
ing burns and scalds ; its preparation is easy, but its principal in- 
gredient being very inferior, as generally met with, it has been 
almost entirely superseded by the cerate of precipitated carbonate 
of zinc, and the ointment of oxide of zinc which follow it ; the latter 
is much softer in consistence than either of the former, which are 
designed to be applied on a piece of lint or old linen. 

Red precipitate ointment (ung. hydr. oxid. rub.) is a very important 
preparation, being most extensively used as an eye-salve and the 
basis of almost all the popular medicines of that description. By 
trituration, the oxide becomes changed to an orange-colored pow- 
der, which imparts a similar hue to the ointment; it is variously 
diluted to meet the case for which prescribed; when it becomes 
rancid it assumes a red color, and should be thrown away. 

Mercurial ointment requires special mention from its mode of pre- 
paration ; it is directed to be made by long trituration of mercury 
one part, with mixed lard and suet one part ; it is, however, a very 
slow process unless facilitated by appropriate machinery, and even 
then the temptation is strong to sacrifice its bland and pure altera- 
tive effect to the convenience of using a portion of rancid grease to 
reduce the mercury, thus producing intentionally the very condi- 
tion which in ointments it is desirable to avoid. This ointment is 
usually made of one part of mercury to two or three of the unctuous 
ingredients. When ordering it, the physician should specify "one- 
half mercury." Its uses are numerous, one of the chief of which is 
that of inducing the mercurial impression by its application to the 
thighs, armpits, &c. The numerous curious synonyms applied to 
this ointment it would be interesting to collect. 

The ointments containing iodine are much prescribed, and by the 
introduction of sufficient iodide of potassium and water form homo- 
geneous and perfect ointments. 

The use of the narcotic extracts in the preparation of ointments 
of that class is a recent improvement. 

Belladonna and stramonium ointments, as shown in the syllabus, 
are made in that way, taking care to soften the extract by triturat- 
ing with water before adding the simple ointment or lard. 

1 See page 494, Prescription No. 121. 



483 EXTERNAL APPLICATIONS. 

Aconite ointment may be made in the same way and in the same 
proportion, 3j to 3j. 

The following unofficinal ointment is of use of latter time in neu- 
ralgia, a piece the size of a pea to be applied over the part three or 
four times a day. 

No. 116. — Aconitia Ointment. 

Take of Aconitia gr. xvj. 

Olive oil 3ss. 

Triturate together, and then incorporate with 

Lard SJ. 

A good substitute for this, which is a very expensive preparation, 
will be found among the liniments. 

No. 117. — Tetter Ointment prescribed by the late Dr. S. G. Morion. 

Take of Calomel, 

Alum (dried), in powder, 

( larbonate of lead, 

Oil of turpentine, each . . . 5U« 

Simple ointment .... 3is& 

Triturate the powders together till they arc impalpable and tho- 
roughly mixed, then incorporate them with the oil and cerate. 

This is one of the very best ointments of its class, as proved by 
trials during a series of years. 

The mode of using it is to apply it at night, wash off with pure 
Castile soap in the morning, wipe dry, and dust with pure starch. 

No. 118. — A Salve closely resembling "Beckers Eye Balsam? 

R. — Calamine, 

Tutty, of each Vi— \ 

Red oxide of mercury . 
Camphor, in powder 
Almond oil . 

White wax .... 
Fresh butter .... 



3vj. 

3j. 

3j. 

Sviij. 



Reduce the mineral substances to a very fine powder, and incor- 
porate with the oil in which the camphor has been dissolved with 
the wax and butter previously melted together. The butter must 
be deprived of salt, if it contains it, by washing with warm water. 
The reputation of Becker's ~Eye Balsam is widely extended. 

Third Class. — Ointments made by digesting the Medicinal Ingre- 
dient in Lard. 

I'ng. Tabaci, 5.) leaves to B5j lard. Narcotic. 

Ung. Mezerei, giv bark to lard .^xiv, wax 3 i j . Stimulating. 

Ung. Cantharidis (with boiling water), 3 i j to 3 viij resin cerate. Stimulating. 



CERATES AND OINTMENTS. 489 

The members of this class are made by the action of lard at an 
elevated temperature upon medicinal substances. As long as mois- 
ture is extracted from the leaf or bark, it is shown by escaping as 
steam through the fused grease; when it becomes perfectly placid, 
it is decanted and strained. The vegetable structure is now found 
to have become crisp, dry, and inert, and the lard is impregnated 
with its properties. This plan was formerly more in vogue; the use 
of extracts, as in the case of Ung. belladonna? and Ung. stramonii, is 
a much shorter and equally good way. 

Improved Tobacco Ointment. 1 

Take of Tobacco leaves I v. 

Yinegar Oij. 

Digest the leaves in the vinegar till evaporated to Oss ; strain 
and express the liquid, then evaporate by moderate heat to about 
f 3iij ; triturate this with 

Extract of belladonna .... Ij. 

Then take Camphor, in powder .... 3viss. 
Eesin cerate §viss. 

Mix these by fusion at a moderate heat, and incorporate them 
with the mixed extracts of tobacco and belladonna. This is a very 
superior stimulating and anodyne application prescribed by my 
brother, Dr. Joseph Parrish, and made public in this form by Wm. 
J. Allinson, of Burlington, N. J. 

Garlic Ointment. 

Take of Fresh garlic . . . . 2 or 3 cloves. 
Lard . . . . . 3j. 

Digest at a moderate heat for half an hour and strain ; a useful 
application to the chest in croup. 

Ung. cantharidis is not made as described for this class, though, 
not classifiable elsewhere. Boiling water is here the solvent used, 
and the aqueous extract is incorporated with the resin cerate, which 
here, as in the case of savine ointment in the last group, is used as 
a vehicle. These two ointments are, I believe, chiefly used for the 
same purpose. Care must be taken to distinguish, in prescriptions, 
between the cerate and ointment of cantharides ; the former being 
blistering cerate, and the latter only a stimulating dressing for 
blisters. 

Fourth Class. — In which the Unctuous Ingredient is decomposed. 

Ung. Hydrarg. Nit. A powerful stimulant and alterative; citrine ointment. 

Ceratum Saponis. A bland and soothing dressing. 

Cerat. Plumbi S. Acet. A cooling and mild application ; Goulard's cerate. 

1 Those only which are strictly extemporaneous are numbered. 



490 EXTERNAL APPLICATIONS. 

Citrine ointment is made by mixing f.^ix hot oil (the officinal recipe 
orders neat's foot, but lard oil does very well), 1 and siij lard, with 
an acid nitrate of mercury; prepared by dissolving sj mercury in 
f3xiv nitric acid, which should be of full officinal strength, a brisk 
effervescence occurs, nitric oxide is given off, and the olein of the 
fat is converted into elaidin; by stirring with a wooden spatula till 
it cools, a beautiful citrine colored soft ointment will generally be 
obtained. It is a very uncertain preparation, however. 

Soct]) cerate is made by boiling solution of subacetate of lead with 
soap ; the oil acids of the soap being liberated, combine with the 
oxide of lead of the subacetate, and the acetic acid is saturated by 
the alkali of the soap; by the addition of olive oil and white wax, 
a beautiful and very stiff cerate is formed, which forms a connecting 
link between the cerates and the plasters. 

GoularoVs Cerate. 

This preparation contains subacetate of lead combined with olive 
oil, white wax, and camphor; it should be made in small quantities 
so as to be used before it becomes rancid, which is shown by its 
odor and white color on the surface exposed to the air. An excel- 
lent combination of this, attributed to Dr. Parrish, Senior, is as fol- 
lows : — 

No. 119 — Compound Cerate of Lead. 

B.—Cerat. plumbi subacet., 

Cerat. simp., aa oss. 

Jlydr. chlor. mit., 

Pulveris opii, aa . . . . • 5j- 
Mix. 
Used in cutaneous eruptions of a local character. 

EmplastrA, U.S. (Plasters.) 

These are external applications of a consistence thicker than 
cerates, and of such tenacity and adh< t the temperature of 

the body that when wanned and applied they will adhere firmly. 
They are used for two principal objects : 1st, to furnish mechanical 
support and to protect the part from the air; and, 2d, to convey 
medicinal effects, especially of a stimulant and discutient character. 

In the chapter on Fixed Oils, page 271, the subject of the prepa- 
ration and properties of lead plaster, oleo-margarate of lead, is 
fully presented. This preparation is the basis of most plasters, 
though a considerable number are made from resinous substances 
which were treated of under that head on pages 288 to 291. 

Lead plaster associated with soap is rendered less adhesive and 
more bland in its characters, furnishing an emollient preparation 
often confounded with soap cerate. By mixing with resin, lead 
plaster is rendered more adhesive, and somewhat more irritating. 

1 Dr. A. Hewson recommends cod-liver oil for this purpose. 



OFFICINAL PLASTERS. 



491 



This is its most common preparation, and, when spread on cotton 
cloth, constitutes adhesive plaster cloth. 

This should be kept in tin cans, and when it is disposed to crackle, 
should be held to the fire till fused on the surface, and then laid away 
to cool thoroughly before being again rolled up. In applying adhe- 
sive plaster, it should be warmed from the unspread side, to insure 
its being softened throughout. 

The skilful association of these ingredients, and of the other 
medicinal substances prescribed in the officinal plasters, is accom- 
plished mainly by fusion and stirring together ; in the case of opium 
plaster, water is added to lessen the liability to injury from the 
heat employed. Belladonna plaster is made by incorporating the 
extract with resin and lead plaster. 

In mercurial plaster, and plaster of ammoniac and mercury, a little 
sulphur and oil are used to extinguish the mercury before associat- 
ing it with the plaster. 

Emplastra. — Syllabus of Officinal Plasters. 



Emp. Plumbi. (See p? 
Emp. Resinse. 

Emp. Saponis. 

Emp. Belludonnae. 

Emp. Ferri. 

Emp. Hydrargyri. 

Emp. Opii. 

Emp. Ammoniaci. 

Emp. Ammoniaci cum 
Hydrarg. 

Emp. Assafoetida. 



Emp. PicisBurgundicse. 
Emp. Picis cum Canth 



,ge 272). Diachylon plasti 

j 1 part p. resin. 

\ 6 parts lead plaster. 

j 1 part soap. 

\ 9 parts lead plaster. 

J 1 part extract. 

\ 2 parts emp. resinoe. 

r 1 part F20 3 ,-f FeO,C0 2 . 

-I 8 parts lead plaster. 

( 2 parts B. pitch. 

f 3 parts mercury. 

j 1 part olive oil. 

J 1 part resin. 

(_ 6 parts lead plaster. 

il part opium. 
1J parts B. pitch. 
6 parts lead plaster. 
j G. resin, purified by dil. 
\ acet. acid, 
f Ammoniac Ibj. 

Mercury ^iij. 

Olive oil fgj. 

Sulphur gr. viij. 
( Assafoetida Ibj. 
j Lead plaster ffij. 
1 Galbanum Ibss. 
l_ Yellow wax Ibss. 
j 12 parts B. pitch. 
(_ 1 part y. wax. 

7 parts B. pitch. 

1 part cerat. canth. 



V Adhesive plaster. 

>Very mild and less adhesive. 

j- Anodyne in neuralgia, &c. 

IRed strengthening roborant plas- 
ter. 

L Discutient ; alterative. 

y Anodyne. 

1 Stimulant; resolvent. 

J- Discutient ; stimulant. 



•{ 



Antispasmodic. 

J 

I " Strengthening plaster." 

I Warming plaster. 



Ammoniac plaster is peculiar in its mode of preparation consisting 
of the pure gum-resin as dissolved in vinegar, strained and evapo- 
rated. 

The spreading of plasters, which was formerly an important part 
of the business of the apothecary, has now, like many other opera- 



492 EXTERNAL APPLICATIONS. 

tions of his art, been monopolized by manufacturers who bring 
machinery to their aid, so that it will scarcely require a detailed 
description in a work of the design and scope of the present. 

Figs. 220 and 221 show plaster irons of the kinds adapted to 
different sizes and kinds of plasters, the larger size being suitable 
to spread a large plaster of a slowly fusible material. The heat 

Fig. 220. 




necessary to melt the plaster is derived from the iron, which should 
be first warmed to such temperature as that, while it will occasion 
the plaster to flow, it will not scorch it. The iron should also 

retain sufficient heat till the opera- 
Fl S- 221. tion is complete, to impart a smooth 

surface to the stiffened plaster. The 
small iron will do well to spread a 
warming plaster, belladonna plaster, 
or the similar easily fusible kinds. 

The material on which plasters 
are spread, may be varied according 
to their use. Eesinous plasters and 
warming plasters to be applied to the back or breast, as counter- 
irritants and mechanical supports, are spread on thick sheepskin, 
while opium and belladonna plasters, which are generally smaller 
and frequently applied about the face, may be spread on kid or 
split skin. I have found advantage in spreading the large lead 
plasters and others to be applied over the breast of the female on 
the kind of skin called "chamois" which is made more flexible 
and yielding, though equally durable with the differently dressed 




Machine-spread Strengthening Plasters 

Are immensely popular outside the profession for a great variety 
of ailments, and they are undoubtedly better adapted to meet the 
public demand for cough remedies, "pain eradicators," &c., than 
the great majority of the " pectoral syrups'' and " hot drops,'' &c, so 
extensively vended. Kecently, the manufacturers have prepared 
specific kinds of plasters, and sold them under appropriate names, 
as Burgundy pitch, hemlock, and warming plasters, so as to put 
them within the range of physicians' prescriptions. Some of them 
should make the series of officinal plasters in appropriate sizes and 
compounded according to the Pharmacopoeia, and there would cer- 



OFFICINAL LINIMENTS. 493 

taiuly be a demand for them, as apothecaries seldom covet the labor 
of preparing them extemporaneously. 

Annular Corn- Plasters. 

Under this name I have prepared, in imitation of Ellis's corn- 
plasters, a very convenient form of corn-plaster. Adhesive plaster 
is spread on thick buckskin, and then with a punch cut into small 
round plasters, about § inch in diameter, then with another punch 
a small hole is cut in the middle. Applied over a sore corn, it pro- 
tects from the pressure of the shoe and gives great relief. 

Cataplasms. 

The following is introduced as a specimen of the unofficinal class 
of cataplasms, of which mustard plaster and the numerous varieties 
of poultices are examples. (See page 252.) 

No. 120.— Spice Plaster. (Dr. Parrish, Sen.) 

Take of Powd. capsicum, 

" cinnamon, 

" cloves, each . . .2 ounces. 
Eye meal, 
Spirits, 
Honey, of each .... sufficient. 

To be made into a cataplasm by trituration on a plate, and 
spreading upon a close fabric. It should be made up when re- 
quired. 

Linimenta, U. S. (Liniments.) 

These ase fluid or semifluid preparations designed to be smeared 
upon the surface, and either covered by lint or rubbed on until 
partially absorbed. The officinal members of this class are dis- 
played in the following syllabus. 

The Officinal Liniments. 
Class 1. — In which the Oily Ingredient is saponified. 

Linimentum Ammonise. ( Liq. ammonia, 1 part. "I Stimulating. 

(Volatile Liniment.) \ Olive oil, 2 parts. / Rubefacient. 

Linimentum Calcis. < -J. m " w , .,' V equal parts. " Healing," or demulcent. 

Class 2. — Oils charged with Stimulating Ingredients. 
Linim. Cantharidis. j oa\J^ntine Oi } Di S ested and strained. 

» Camphorse. { OU™e 0^4 P " } Triturated in a mortar. 



494 EXTERNAL APPLICATIONS. 



Class 3. — Semifluid Mixtures, made ivith Heat. 

Linim. Terebinthinae. f Resin cerate ffij. "1 A useful stimulant in burns 

(Kentish's Ointment.) \ Oil turpentine Oss. J and scalds. 

f Common soap Jiij. "] 

Linim. Saponis Campbora- Camphor gj. I Tbe soap dissolved in alco- 

tum. -j Oil rosemary f^j. .}- hoi by heat, and the sti- 

(Opodeldoc.) | " origanum fgj. mulants added. 

[Alcohol Oj. J 

The first class contains two very opposite therapeutical agents. 

Volatile liniment is a powerful stimulant, much used as a counter- 
irritant in sore throats, and also in rheumatism. 

Lime liniment is applied with the most happy effects to recent 
sores and burns ; it is one of the most useful of preparations in the 
apothecaries' daily routine of minor surgery. 

Liniment of Spanish flies is capable of use as a vesicant, being 
applied on lint, and covered to confine its vapor. 

Camphor liniment is well adapted as a vehicle of many substances 
applied in the form of stimulating liniment; it is well combined 
with liq. ammonia, forming a good modification of the volatile 
liniment. 

Kentish's ointment, though so different from lime liniment, is used 
in the same cases ; it is applied to recent burns, until the peculiar 
inflammation, called the fire, subsides. 

Opodeldoc is much used as an application to sprains, rheumatic 
pains, &c; it is always put up in small wide-mouth vials, into 
which the finger is inserted, to soften and extract it. 

Linimentum Plumbi Subacetatis. 

Take of Solution of subacetate of lead, 

Glycerin, of each 5j. 

This is designed to enable the physician to apply subacetate of 
lead in a concentrated form, and to facilitate its dilution with neu- 
tral liquids, without its becoming decomposed. 

Linimentum Aconiti Radicis. (Prof. Procter.) 

Take of Aconite root, in powder . . . . 3iv. 

Glycerin f3ij. 

Alcohol q. s. 

Macerate the aconite with half a pint of alcohol for 24 hours, then 
pack it in a small displacer, and add alcohol gradually, until a pint 
of tincture has passed. 

Distil off faxij, and evaporate to f5xij ; to this add alcohol 3ij 
and the glycerin. 

This is intended to substitute ointment of aconitia as an external 
anaesthetic application. Cut a piece of lint of the required size, 
and saturate it with the liniment; when applied, it should be 



ON DISPENSING MEDICINES. 495 

covered with oiled silk, should be used with great care, and never 
on an abraded surface. 

Linimentum Hyperici. {Red Oil) 

Take of Flowers of hypericum (fresh), a convenient quantity. 
Olive oil, sufficient to cover it. 

Macerate in the sun for 14 days, express and strain. 

A well-known popular application to recent bruises and sprains. 

In this connection, it may be well to mention 
Tinctura Arnicas. 

Take of Arnica flowers liv. 

Alcohol Oj. 

Digest together, express and filter, or displace. 

Some pharmaceutists use diluted alcohol, which, in view of its 
extensive and well-known external use, is not so good as alcohol 
of full strength. There is no authoritative direction as to its 
strength. The above recipe is that I have long used satisfactorily. 



CHAPTER V. 

ON THE ART OF DISPENSING MEDICINES. 

This very extensive subject constitutes the most difficult prac- 
tical branch of pharmacy, for, in addition to the variety and extent 
of knowledge required for the performance of the various duties 
involved in it, a salesman and dispenser of medicines must possess 
rare personal qualities to render him popular and successful in his 
calling. 

Neatness, agility, and readiness of manner, combined with uni- 
form watchfulness and care in all the important manipulations 
required of him, will always inspire confidence, and secure patron- 
age — while slothfulness, negligence, and indifference to what may 
seem petty details, will invariably inure to the disadvantage of 
their possessor. It is not designed, in this Introduction to Practical 
Pharmacy, to devote much space to this subject; it is too important 
a matter to be superficially treated, and yet it would require more 
space to systematize its various details, than would comport with 



496 ON DISPENSING MEDICINES. 

the general plan of this work, which has been already extended 
much beyond its original design. 

In the hints which are here offered, I shall have chiefly in view 
the country practitioner, whose necessities compel him to under- 
take the business of dispensing, and the student of medicine and 
pharmacy, who would seek to obtain from books the leading topics 
on which to found his practical and experimental routine of 
studies. 

In the first preliminary chapter, most of the forms of apparatus 
required by the country practitioner in dispensing were described 
and fully illustrated, and in the succeeding parts of the work, many 
useful implements, chiefly employed in manufacturing processes, 
have been described in connection with their uses and modes of 
construction, a few will be illustrated along with the manipulations 
yet to be described. It will be observed that many of the forms 
of apparatus described are by no means indispensable, and that all 
the processes described throughout the work can be performed with 
but few and cheap implements. 

Furniture of the Office. 

The dispensing office or shop should have a counter of size propor- 
tioned to its anticipated use, with a closet in it, and a i'cw drawers; 
it should be placed very near to the bottles containing the medi- 
cines. In large establishments, a few rows of fsiv and f.sij ground 
stoppered bottles and extract jars are frequently placed in a case 
on the counter, within reach of the operator when using the scales; 
these are filled with all the medicines most prescribed in small 
quantities, and entering into usual extemporaneous prescriptions. 
The counter should contain the large scales (see Fig. 22, p. 2<i), and 
the prescription scales and case (Fig. 2<>, p. 24), which, however, 
should be so placed as not to be jarred by the contusion of sub- 
stances with the pestle and mortar, and may very appropriately be 
placed on an adjacent shelf or table appropriated exclusively to 
them, and quite within reach in manipulating at the counter. The 
closet or shelves under the counter may be appropriated to mortars 
and pestles, funnel, displacement apparatus, infusion mug, evapo- 
rating dishes, &c. ; one shallow drawer with divisions should be 
appropriated to papers, cut for dispensing, as below described 
another to labels, pill boxes, powder boxes, corks, scissors, &c. 
each in a separate apartment; another may contain the pill ma 
chine and tile, the spatulas, and plaster iron; a place must be ap 
propriated to a towel, and a tank, or preferably a hydrant with a 
sink, should be near at hand; a few deep drawers will be found 
useful for containing the drugs bought in packages, and for which 
no bottles are provided. On the top of the counter, which may be 
covered with oil-cloth, the cork presser, the twine reel, and the 
alcohol lamp and graduated measure, may be appropriate orna- 



FUKNITUKE OF THE OFFICE. 497 

ments. If practicable to have another counter for small manufac- 
turing operations, it would be well to avoid cumbering the dispens- 
ing counter with a gas furnace, but otherwise the arrangement de- 
scribed on pp. 139 and 140, and here again figured, will be conve- 

Fig. 222. 




Counter lamps. 

nient; it may be led by a ground burner from the pendant or side- 
light nearest at hand, and will be very convenient for heating pur- 
poses. The remarks on p. 135, in regard to the office stove, should 
not be overlooked. 

Among the little conveniences, it is well not to overlook a cork- 
screw, Fig. 224, which should be hung on a tack, in an accessible 
place. With an eye to convenience and to furnishing a manipulat- 
ing counter, a spritz, Fig. 223, may be suitably disposed on it; 
much will depend on the size of the top, and care must be taken 
not to crowd the space to be used in manipulation. A retort 
stand, Fig. 225, or the improved Wiegand's pattern, Fig. 151, p. 
153, should be on the counter or at hand, to be used for filtering, 
displacement, &c; although for such purposes, it seems quite im- 
portant that a table or shelf should be especially appropriated. 
32 



498 



ON DISPENSING MEDICINES. 



The little mill, Fig. 37, p. 32, can be screwed on to the end of the 
working counter, and removed at pleasure. It is well to have 



Fig. 225 



Fig. 224. 



Fig. 225. 




iL 




<pritz. 



Cork-screw. 



Retort stand. 



immediately under the top of the dispensing counter, two slides, on 
which most of the manipulations are performed ; one of these should 
be kept exclusively for powders, and the other used indiscrimi- 
nately, to save the top from being soiled. 

The stock of medicines should be arranged in a case, or on plain 
shelves, within a few feet of the counter. In the appendix will be 
found the dimensions necessary for the outfits there published. The 
shelves should be somewhat more extended than the actual dimen- 
sions required at first, to allow for additions from time to time, and 
care should be taken in making these additions to have the glass 
ware correspond with the original stock. In the first preliminary 
chapter, the whole subject of glass ware is fully displayed. 

The books of reference, which should be ample — and if the pro- 
prietor himself, and those under his instructions, would keep pace 
with the advance of the times, should contain the American Journal of 
Pharmacy, bound from year to year — should be in a neighboring 
case; this might be advantageously arranged to contain also a ske- 
leton, and the surgical, dental, and obstetric instruments, bandages, 
splints, &c. 

The bougies and catheters should be in a tin case, so also the 
adhesive plaster, blistering tissue, gum-elastic bougies, nipple shields, 
&c. It is to be regretted that the proper arrangement and garnish- 
ing of the dispensing office should be generally considered of so 
little importance by practitioners at the commencement of their 
career ; it is apt to have more effect upon the future success of the 
physician than he can appreciate in advance. 

Folding of Powders. 

The first manipulation taught my students in the school of prac- 
tical pharmacy is this very elementary pursuit. There are, however, 



FOLDING OP POWDERS. 



Fig. 226. 



thousands who have felt the want of such instruction all their lives. 
The paper usually purchased for folding packages of medicine is 
called " white druggists' wrapping paper ;" its size is called double 
medium, each sheet being about 38 X 24J inches. This sheet cut into 
2 sheets 24Jxl9 = the medium size. The medium sheet is thus 
conveniently divided for dispensing purposes: — 

Into 4 sheets 12 X 9 J inches=J ft) papers. 
6 " 9J X 8 " =i ft) papers. 
12 " §\X§1 " = loz. papers. 

Fig. 226 shows a J 33b paper. To fold a package, this is laid upon 
the scale plate and filled with an appropriate quantity ; of a moder- 
ately heavy article, like Epsom salts or 
cream of tartar, this will be 4 oz. (com.) ; 
of a light article, like senna or chamomile, 
say 1 oz. (com.). The paper is placed 
before the operator in the direction here 
shown ; a little crease is made on the nearest 
end so as to form a flap into which the 
furthest edge is fitted, and the whole turned 
over upon the containing substance so as 
to form a crease when laid evenly down 
upon it, at the middle or near the furthest 
side, according as a wide or narrow bundle 
is desired. 

The cylinder is now loosely closed up 
at one end by turning it over, and is held 
up with the crease toward the operator, 
the thumb pressing it firmly to prevent 
its bulging. Now, with the forefinger, the upper end of the cylinder 
is pressed in against the containing substance, and the two sides of 
the paper being rolled into the position they naturally take, the 
whole upper flap is laid down immediately above the containing 
substance and pressed into a firm and even crease. The package 
is now inverted, the other end is opened out, rolled in, and folded 
over in like manner. 

The next operation is to label the package ; this requires very 
little paste, only sufficient to prevent its slipping about; the label 
is put immediately in line with the crease, unless this is too low 
down, and then it connects the crease with the part below. The 
next operation is to tie the package, which is done by laying it on 
the flat or labelled side and passing the string first across it and 
then lengthwise, securing it by a bow-knot at the edge where it was 
first creased. When the package is large or quite oblong, the string 
is made to pass twice across it and once lengthwise. The string 
used should be thin and free from fuzz ; linen is the best material. 
The ball of tying string may be put into a small apartment of the 
drawer and gradually unwound as required, or it may be used from 




Paper for package. 



500 



ON DISPENSING MEDICINES. 



a reel. Fig. 228 shows a new upright reel, made by Wiegand, pos- 
sessing several advantages over the horizontal form ; the twine can 



Fie. 227. 



Fig. 228. 





Paper package. 



Upright reel. 



be drawn from it in every direction with equal facility, and by means 
of a rim of brass surrounding the lower head of the spool, all pos- 
sibility of the twine tangling upon the spindle is effectually pre- 
cluded; a cutter is fixed upon the top, which proves very convenient 
for cutting the string ; the reel is made of brass, handsomely finished, 
and set upon a polished Italian marble base. 

Small powders for containing but a single dose of medicines are, 
or ought to be, put up in glazed writing paper. The kind called 
flat-cap is economical and adapted to the purpose. A sheet of fiat- 
cap will furnish sixteen of the most common size, or nine of the 
larger or Seidlitz powder size. Fig. 229 represents the shape of 



Fig. 22? 




Fig. 230. 



Fig. 231. 



■r 




Paper for powder. 



'Powder. 



Envelop for single powders. 



these. A little crease is made along the long side into which the 
opposite edge is laid, and the paper being folded over is laid down 
in the crease just beyond the middle, or at the middle, according to 
the width desired. The ends are now folded over a spatula so as to 
make flaps of equal length, and the package or powder, as it is called, 



PREPARATION AND DISPENSING OF PILLS. 



501 



is complete. In dispensing simple powders, I use a small envelop, 
Fig. ,231, which is just the right size, and leaves nothing to desire. 

Powders are often directed in considerable numbers, frequently, 
as in Prescription No. 54, twelve at once ; in this case it is import- 
ant to have the powders all of one length, so as to fit in a little box 
called a powder-box or lozenge-box. 

Figs. 232 and 233 represent gauges for folding powders; their use 
is twofold — to regulate the length of the powder and to facilitate the 
folding with a folder; the two end creases are made by simply- 
pressing the paper over the blades between the thumb and finger. 



Fig. 232. 



Fig. 283. 




Wiegand's powder folder. 



Powder folder. 



Fig. 232 is a recent improvement of S. Lloyd Wiegand, of this 
city; the blades A A are less liable to become unsteady, and are of 
better shape than those of the old kind. The screw regulates their 
distance apart. The expense of these is saved by cutting a piece 
of tin of the required width, and tacking it on to one corner of the 
slide appropriated to powders. With a penknife, the board may be 
cut out to the thickness of the tin, so that the paper will slip readily 
on to the tin and be turned over by the thumb and finger; a great 
many powders can be put up in a few minutes by this plan. 



Preparation and Dispensing of Pills. 

The preparation of pills can only be learned by practice, and I 
am not about to attempt to explain it in detail. 

The ingredients in the form of powder being weighed, are placed 
in a mortar and thoroughly mixed ; two spatulas being at hand, a 
small addition of some excipient, as already pointed out, is to be 
made, care being taken not to add an excess, which the inexperienced 
are apt to do. The little bottle, Fig. 234, is made for the use of the 
analytical chemist in moistening substances with a single drop of a 
reagent ; it will be useful to contain water for the purpose named. 
The drop guide, Fig. 235, or a similar extemporaneous contrivance, 
will answer the same purpose. Many pill masses are spoiled by 
getting a few drops too much water accidentally into them; they 



502 



ON DISPENSING MEDICINES. 



should always be very thoroughly triturated before the addition 
of fresh portions of liquid. 



Fig. 234. 



Fig. 235. 





Bottle for moistening pill masses. 



Bottle with drop machine. 



The use of extracts in making pills has already been treated of, 
as also the whole subject of the selection of ingredients and exci- 
pients, and we proceed to a few hints on the mode of dividing and 
preserving them. 

Pills may be divided with a spatula, by the eye or by the aid of 
a graduated tile ; a great many pharmaceutists use this altogether, 
but it has always appeared to me it must be from ignorance .of the 



Fig. 236. 



O 6 12 18 2 t 
t * f t t 


1 ["" 

L J 



Fig. 237. 






Hi!' 






Pill machine. 



proper use of the pill machine, Fig. 237. If the mass is plastic, it 
may be rolled between the two smooth surfaces into a perfect 



THE DISPENSING OF LIQUIDS. 503 

cylinder equally thick at both ends, and by then adjusting the cut- 
ting surfaces, the whole mass will be immediately turned into the 
appropriate number of pills, which, if about the size appropriate to 
the machine, will be so round as to require no farther rolling. In 
large dispensing establishments, several machines are sometimes 
kept adapted to different sizes, one for pills of opium (No. 26), 
or Quevenne's iron (No. 13); another for compound cathartic (No. 38), 
or aloetic pill (No. 36); and another for compound rhubarb (No. 35), 
and other large pills. There is a practical hint in relation to the use 
of the pill machine which should be mentioned in this connection : 
it is, that the cutting surfaces will only work on each other perfectly 
in one way ; every roller is, therefore, marked with a star, a little 
brass tack, a number, or some other designation, and a correspond- 
ing one is made on the machine, indicating in which direction the 
roller is to be worked on the machine in cutting. In the figure, 
this is shown by two stars. From not being aware of this precau- 
tion, many abandon the use of a machine, which is one of the greatest 
of conveniences in pharmacy. 

Pills, when kept on hand, should be kept in ground stoppered 
bottles, into which they should not be put until well dried on an 
open box lid or paper folded at the edges for the pur- 
pose. There are three kinds of pill boxes described s " 
on pages 36 and 37. Pills containing very volatile 
ingredients should be dispensed in a small wide-mouth 
vial. . 

Fig. 238 shows a bottle arranged to contain ly co- 
podium, powdered liquorice root, or sifted arrowroot, 
one or more of which may be kept at hand in dispensing 
pills, both for the dusting of the pill machine and for 
filling into the box in which they are dispensed. One 
of these bottles may have powdered gum Arabic also, 
so as to add that ingredient conveniently to pill masses 
in process of their manufacture. The mode of con- Dusting bottle, 
struction will scarcely need a remark; a perforated 
cork, short piece of tube, and §j or iij vial, constitute the apparatus. 

The Dispensing of Liquids. 

Here the graduated measure will at once come in play. "We 
draw from the tincture bottles both for dispensing directly and 
mixing in prescription, and the habit should be fixed, which is 
easily established, of holding the stopper by the little finger while 
holding the measure with the thumb and forefinger. The measure 
must be held opposite the eye to measure the quantity with accu- 
racy, and, after it has been done, the stopper is immediately to be 
replaced and the bottle set back on the shelf. The whole process 
is well shown in Fig. 239. The liability to mistakes in compound- 
ing is greatly increased by the accumulation of bottles on the 




504 



ON DISPENSING MEDICINES. 



counter ; and it should be the habit to replace each bottle imme- 
diately, and to note the label as it is taken down and as it is put 

Fig. 239. 




>~«S^\ 



, : f^i) 




back ; if a drop of liquid remains on the lip after decanting, it 
should be collected on the point of the stopper before putting it in 
again, and thus prevented from running down the side. 

Under the head of Solution, in the second part of this work, and 
of the liquid forms of medicines in the fifth part, and, indeed, 
throughout all the practical parts, I have endeavored to impress 
such facts connected with the preparation and use of this class of 
medicines as would be most useful to the student, and I may con- 
clude the subject here by reference to the selection of vials, corking, 
labelling, &c, on which a few hints may be given. Of the several 
varieties of vials shown on page 35, the kind best adapted to the 
purposes of the country physician is the German flint, Fig. 240 ; 
it has the advantage over the flint vial of being cheaper, and, as 
is generally believed, stronger ; while it is far better than the 
common quality of green glass. The manufacturers of green glass 



THE DISPENSING OF LIQUIDS. 



505 



have recently made many of their vials without, lips, from the fact 
that dealers in handling and repacking the lipped vials suffer loss 
from these being much broken about the lip. A vial is, however, 
of little use for many of the purposes of the physician without 
a good, rather broad, and thin lip, which will allow of the pouring 
of the liquid from it without its running back and down the sides 
of the vial. This is especially true of small vials from which drops 
are to be administered. 



Fig. 240. 

A 



Fig. 241. 




There is no economy in procuring cheap corks, as prices are pretty 
exactly according to quality, and of the inferior qualities a large 
number are quite unfit for use. The cork presser, Fig. 241, is now 
so common and well known as scarcely to require a mention ; in 
using it, care should be taken to press the whole length of the cork, 
otherwise, if it is rather dry, it may be cracked at the point where the 
pressure of the machine ceases, and hence will break off in attempt- 
ing to remove it from the bottle. 

The cork drawer should not be too near the fire, as they are de- 
teriorated by long-continued drying. The cork should always be 
adjusted to the bottle before putting the liquid into it, so that if it 
should not fit, it may not be injured by contact with the liquid, and 
may be thrown in with the corks again. 

The neat appearance depends chiefly on its being clean and hav- 
ing a clear fresh surface at top ; this may generally be attained by 
the use of a sharp knife, care being taken not to cut it off so short 
as to be inconvenient to extract again. The practice of capping 
over the cork with a piece of fancy paper or damp kid gives a hand- 
some finish to the preparation, but in small sales scarcely repays 
for the time consumed. 

The fashion of stamping the cork at top with a dye upon sealing- 
wax has lately become quite general. Heavy and good quality tin 
foil is a beautiful capping for corks, and may be applied without a 
string to secure it ; it will take the impression of a stamp with con- 
siderable distinctness. With a view to capping operations, a small 
pair of scissors, different from those adapted to the general purposes 
of the counter, will be almost indispensable. 

Labelling medicinal preparations is very much neglected by 
country practitioners, frequently for want of facilities ; it is, how- 
ever, too important a matter to be overlooked in any well-ordered 



506 



ON DISPENSING MEDICINES. 



dispensary. A small sheet of blank labels may be procured for a 
trifling sum, adapted exactly to the wants of the particular individual, 
or the druggist should have them printed for his customers. I have 
for several years sold from a set somewhat like the following, which 
by filling up the blanks serve most the purposes of the physician : — 



Take 




spoonful 


every 




hour as 


directed by 






Dr. 







TO BE USED AS DIRECTED BY 



Dr. 




Fig. 242. 



The next facility for labelling is a good paste bottle, 
and a recipe for a permanent paste. Fig. 242 shows 
a convenient little wide mouth bottle, which may be 
of f.sj or fsij capacity, with a perforated cork into 
which a plug is inserted, extending half an inch 
below the cork, on to which is fitted a camel-hair 
brush, always dipping into the paste; this little vial 
may be supplied with paste from another and larger 
bottle. It may be made by either of the following 
processes : — 



Glycerin Paste. — Eecommended by Dr. Goddard as 
suitable for fixing paper to glass and other surfaces, 
and brush. and as keeping very well : — 




Take of Gum Arabic 
Boiling water 
Glycerin 
Make a solution. 



one ounce, 
two fluidounces. 
two fluidrachms. 



ANOTHER GOOD PASTE. 507 

Another good Paste. 

Take of Powdered gum Arabic, 

Powdered tragacanth, of each . . 3ss. 

Water liss. 

Acetic acid fll xx. 

Mix them. 

The application of paste to a series of labels may be accomplished 
by laying the labels successively upon a small piece of soft paper, 
which must be renewed as soon as it has become somewhat daubed, 
or by laying them on a piece of smooth and hard wood, which should 
be cleaned and dried once every day. When the label is applied 
to the glass, it should be covered by a piece of paper somewhat 
larger than itself, and tightly and uniformly pressed till quite 
smooth ; it is a mistake to put a thick coating of paste on the paper, 
as it then spreads on to the surrounding parts of the vial, soiling 
them, and in drying shrinks and wrinkles the label. When filled 
and properly corked, the vial should be carefully wiped off and 
wrapped in a piece of white paper. The ^Eo size, page 499, is suit- 
able for a fgiv vial. 

A good pen, with a fine point, suitable for filling up the blanks 
on the labels, and a desk, should be within convenient reach ; also 
a blank book or file on which to preserve the prescription for future 
reference, and a note-book of facts and experiences, which, if dili- 
gently kept, will, by lapse of time, become a valuable heirloom of 
the office or shop. 



APPENDIX. 



PHYSICIANS' OUTFITS. 



Catalogue of One Hundred and Twenty-five Medicines and Pharmaceutical 
Preparations which can be put up in the best ground glass stoppered 
bottles, and substantial white-ware Jars, uniformly and correctly labelled, 
and furnished ready packed for transportation for seventy-five dol- 
lars {exclusive of implements and apparatus). 



1 ft Acacia. 


1 oz. vial Extractum conii (Tilden's). 


£ ft " pulvis. 


1 oz. vial " hyoscyami " 


1 pint Alcohol. 


2 oz. Extractum coloc. comp. pulv. 


\ pint Acichim aceticum. 


2 oz. " jalapae pulv. 


1 oz. " benzoicum. 


1 oz. " nucis vomicse. 


4 oz. " citricum. 


1 oz. " quassise. 


1 oz. " hydrocyanicum dil. 


8 oz. " taraxaci (Tilden's). 


4 oz. " muriaticum. 


1 ft " sennse fluidum. 


4 oz. " nitricum. 


1 & " spigelise et sennse flui 


J pint " sulphuric, aromat. 


dum. 


1 oz. " tannicum. 


J pint " Valerianae fluidum. 


4 oz. Aloes pulvis (Soc). 


4 oz. Ferri carb. massa (Vallette). 


8 oz. Alumen. 


8 oz. " subcarb. 


4 oz. Ammonise carbonas. 


1 oz. " citras. 


1 pint " liquor. 


1 oz. " pulvis. 


4 oz. " murias. 


J pint " sesqui sulph. solut. (with di- 


\ pint " spiritus arom. 


rections for preparing hydrated per- 


4 oz. Antim. et potass, tartras. 


oxide when required). 


\ oz. Argenti nitras cryst. 


8 oz. Fceniculum. 


J oz. " " fusum. 


1 oz. Gambogise pulv. 


4 oz. Assafoetida. 


1 ft Gentiana contus. 


1 oz. Bismuthi subnitras. 


4 oz. Glycyrrhiza ext. pulv. 


8 oz. Camphora. 


4 oz. " rad. pulv. 


2 oz. Cardamomum. 


2 oz. Glycerin. 


6 oz. Creta prseparata. 


J ft Hydrarg. massa. 


4 oz. Calc. carb. prsecip. 


J ft " chlor. mit. 


6 oz. Chloroformum. 


1 oz. " cum creta. 


8 oz. Cinchona rub. pulv. 


2 oz. " oxid. rub. 


1 oz. Cinchonise sulphas. 


J oz. " prot. iodid. 


1 oz. Creasotum. 


1 oz. Iodinum. 


8 oz. Ceratum cantharides. 


4 oz. Ipecacuanhas pulvis. 


8 oz. " resinse. 


4 oz. Jalapse pulvis. 


8 oz. " simplex. 


8 oz. Juniperus. 


|- pint Copaiba. 


2 oz. Kino. 


1 ft Cubebse pulv. 


4 oz. Liquor iodinii comp. 


2 oz. Collodium. 


4 oz. " ferri iodid. 


1 oz. " cantharidal. 


J pint " hydrarg. et arsen. iodid. 


4 oz. Ergota (whole or in powder). 


\ pint " potassas arsenitis. 


1 ft JEther (letheon). 


1 ft bot. Magnesia. 


1 oz. vial Extractum aconiti (Tilden's). 


\ ft Magnesia carb. 


1 oz. vial " belladonnse " 


5ft " sulphas. 



OlO APPENDIX. 


6 oz. Manna. 


4 oz. Sodaa boras pulv. 


^ oz. Morphice sulphas. 


8 oz. " et potass, tart. 


1 oz. " acetas. 


4 oz. " phosphas. 


1 oz. " murias. 


8 oz. Spigelia. 


4 oz. Myrrha. 


% oz. Strychnia. 


1 oz. Oleum anisi. 


4 oz. Sulphur prcecip. 


1 oz. " cinnamomi. 


| lb " sublim. 


1 oz. " limonis. 


| pint Spt. amnion, arom. 


1 oz. " menthse pip. 


\ pint Spt. aetheris comp. 


1 bot. " olivge. 


1 pint " " nitrici. 


1 pint " ricini. 


A pint " lavand. comp. 


1 pint " terebinthinre. 


1 pint Syrupus ipecacuanhae. 


1 oz. " tiglii. 


1 pint ' ; pruni virg. 


2 oz. Opii pulvis. 


1 pint " rhei aromat. 


8 oz. Plumbi acetas. 


1 pint " scillae. 


2 oz. " carbonas. 


^ pint " senegse. 


2 oz. Potassa (caustic). 


4 oz. Tinctura aconiti rad. 


4 oz. " bicarbonas. 


1 pint " cinchonae C. 


f lb " bitartras. 


.} pint " digitalis. 


4 oz. " citras. 


j pint . " ferri chloridi. 


4 oz. " nitras. 


1 pint " opii. 


8 oz. " sulphas. 


1 pint " " camph. 


2 oz. Potassii iodidum. 


1 pint " zingiberis. 


3 oz. Pulvis ipecac et opa.' 


.$ lb Unguentum hydrargyri. 


8 oz. Quassia. 


1 lb " " nitratis 


1 oz. Quinirc sulphas. 


h D> " simplex. 


G oz. Rheum (E. Ind.). 


1 lb Uva ursi. 


4 oz. Rhei pulvis. 


1 lb Valeriana. 


4 oz. Sapo (Castil.). 


1 pint Vinum antimonii. 


9 oz. Sarsaparilla. 


J pint " ergota;. 


2 oz. Scilla pulv. 


\ pint " colchici rad. 


8 oz. Senna (Alex.). 


1 oz. Veratria. 


8 oz. Senega. 


4 oz. Zinci oxidum P. 


8 oz. Serpentaria. 


8 oz. " sulphas. 


Kiss. Soda; bicarbonas. 





The necessary implements can be purchased for twenty-five dollars, making, 
•with the foregoing, an aggregate expense of one hundred dollars. 

The following list embraces the number and character of the bottles used 
in this collection : — 



12 Oij SM. Bottles. 
11 Oj 

13 Oj Tr. Bottles. 
15 Oss SM. Bottles. 



18 |iv SM. Bottles. 
24 1,5j and fgij SM. and Tr. Bottles. 
12 Covered Jars. 
6 Packing Bottles. 



A case made to contain the above collection should be 5 feet high, exclu- 
sive of cornice, and 4 feet wide. It should contain shelves arranged as 
follows : — 

1. For ointment, and extract jars and implements. 

2. " (narrow) two dozen 2oz. and loz. ground stoppered bottles. 

3. " 12 quart salt-mouth bottles. 

4. " 13 pint " " 

5. " 13 pint tincture bottles. 

6. "15 half- pint salt-mouth bottles. 

7. " 15 " tincture bottles. 

8. " 18 4oz. tincture and 6alt-mouth bottles. 

An under case and several drawers might be appropriated to additional 
apparatus and implements. 



APPENDIX. 



511 



FIFTY DOLLAR OUTFIT. 

The following list of One Hundred Medicines and Preparations can he put 
up in substantial Ground Stoppered Bottles, neatly and uniformly labelled, 
so as to form a convenient and compact Cabinet of Materia Medica, for 
Forty- Three Dollars, and with the Apparatus and Implements attached for 
Fifty Dollars. 



6 oz. Acacia. 


2 oz. Myrrha. 


\ pint Acidum aceticum. 


J oz. Oleum cinnamomi. 


3 oz. " citricum. 


^ oz. " limonis. 


2 oz. " muriaticum. 


J oz. " menthas pip. 


3 oz. " nitricum. 


1 pint " ricini. 


\ pint " sulph. arom. 


1 pint " terebinthinas. 


1 oz. " tannicum. 


£ oz. " tiglii. 


2 pints Alcohol. 


6 oz. Plumbi acetas. 


4 oz. Alumen. 


3 oz. Potassas bicarb. 


4 oz. Ammonias carbonas. 


12 oz. " bitartras. 


4 oz. " murias. 


3 oz. " citras. 


1 pint " liquor. 


6 oz. " nitras. 


J pint " spiritus arom. 


2 oz. Potassii iodidum. 


1 oz. Antim. et potass, tart. 


6 oz. Pulvis acacias. 


\ oz. Argenti nitras cryst. ") 
\ oz. " " fus. J 


3 oz. " aloes, Soc. 


1 oz. " digitalis. 


4 oz. Assafoetida. 


4 oz. " ext. glycyrrhizse. 


8 oz. Camphora. 


1 oz. " gambogias. 


2 oz. Cardamomum. 


1 oz. " ipecacuanhas. 


4 oz. Ceratum cantharidis. 


3 oz. " " et opii. 


3 oz. Chloroformum. 


4 oz. " jalapas. 


2 oz. Collodium. 


1 oz. " opii. 


J pint Copaiba. 


4 oz. " rhei (E. Ind.) 


1 oz. Creasotum. 


2 oz. " scillas. 


6 oz. Creta prasparata, or ) 
4 oz. Calcis carb. prascip. $ 


6 oz. " sodas boras. 


8 oz. Quassia. 


4 oz. Cupri sulphas. 


1 oz. Quinias sulphas. 


2 oz. Ergota (whole or powdered). 


4 oz. Rheum. 


£ pint iEther (Letheon). 


6 oz. Sapo (castil. alb.) 


1 oz. Extractum aconiti (Tilden's). 


6 oz. Sarsaparilla. 


1 oz. " belladonnas " 


4 oz. Senega. 


1 oz. " colocynth. comp. pulv. 


4 oz. Serpentaria. 


1 oz. " conii (Tilden's). 


1 B Sodas bicarb. 


2 oz. " gentianas " 


4 oz. Spigelia. 


1 oz. " hyoscyami " 


8 oz. Sulphur sublim. 


1 oz. " jalapas pulv. 


1 pint Spiritus astheris nit. 


8 oz. " Valerianae fl'd. 


J pint " " comp. 


8 oz. Ferri subcarbonas. 


1 pint " lavand. comp. 


1 oz. " pulvis (per hydrogen). 


J pint Syrupus ipecacuanhas. 


J pint " chloridi tinct. 


J pint " scillas. 


4 oz. Foeniculum. 


| pint " rhei arom. 


8 oz. Gentiana contus. 


1 pint Tinctura cinchonas comp. 


4 oz. Hydrarg. massa. 


1 pint " opii. 


6 oz. " chlorid mit. 


1 pint " " camph. 


2 oz. " oxid. Rub. 


4 oz. Unguentum hydrarg. (^ mercury) 


2 oz. " cum. creta. 


4 oz. " " nitratis. 


1 oz. Iodinium. 


4 oz. Uva ursi. 


J pint Liquor hydrarg. et arsen. iod. 


\ pint. Vin. colchici rad. 


| pint " potassas arsenitis. 


2 oz. Zinci oxidum. 


3 oz. Magnesia. 


6 oz. " sulphas. 


3 ft " sulphas. 


4 oz. Zingiberis. 


J oz. Morphias sulphas. 





512 



APPENDIX. 



IMPLEMENTS. 



Scales and weights, 
giv. Grad. Meas. 
1 Mortar and pestle. 

1 Pill tile. 

2 Spatulas. 



£ gross rials. 
German flint. 



h doz. gviij. 

| doz. x\j. 
1 doz. zix. 
U doz. £ij. 
U doz. |j. 
1 doz. sss. 



1 Funnel. 

1 qr. Wrap'g & filtering paper. 

1 gr. Vial corks. 

2 papers Pill boxes. 

2 yds. Adhesive plaster in tin 



Tlie Medicines contained in tJie Fifty Dollar Outfit are differently arranged 
as follows : — 



Oj Liquor ammonise. 
Oj Spt. aether, nit. 
8 oz. Sulphur sublim. 
Oj Spt. Layand. comp. 



\ pint Acidum aceticum. 
| pint Acid, sulph. arom. 
\ pint Fowler's solution. 
\ pint .Ether. 
% pint Spt. ammon. arom. 



12 pint Salts and Tinctures. 

Oj Tinct. opii. 

6 oz. Acacia. 

Oj Tinct. opii camph. 

Oj " cinchonoe comp. 

14 eighffoz. Tinct. Bottles. 

\ pint Syrup, ipecac. 
\ pint Copail»a. 
\ pint Vin. colchici. 
\ pint Syrup, scillse. 
\ pint Spt. aether, comp. 



5viij Camphora. 
2iy Magnesia. 
12 oz. Pot. bitart. 
D5 Sodce bicarb. 



\ pint Tinct. ferri chlor. 
% pint Syrupus rhei arom. 
| pint Donovan's solution. 
% pint Ext. valerian, fluid. 



14 eight oz. Salt-mouth Bottles. 



6 oz. Pulv. acacia. 

4 oz. Ful. ext. glycyrrhiza?. 

G oz. Plumbi acet. 

4 oz. Jalapse pulv. 

4 oz. Pulv. rhei. 



G oz. Potass, nit. 

6 oz. Pulv. sodre boras. 

6 oz. Zinci sulph. 

4 oz. Alumen. 

4 oz. Ammon. carb. 



4 oz. Assafoetida. 
4 oz. Ammon. murias. 
6 oz. Creta prseparata. 
8 oz. Ferri subcarb. 



17 four oz. Salt-mouth and Tinct. Bottles. 



3 oz. Acid citricum. 
1 oz. " tannicum. 

1 oz. Quiniaj sulph. 

3 oz. Chloroform. 

4 oz. Cupri sulph. 

2 oz. Ergot. 



2 oz. Zinci oxidura. 
2 oz. Acid, muriat. 
6 oz. Ilydr. chlor. mit. 

2 OK. Mvrrhn. 

3 oz. Acid, nitric. 

3 oz. Potassoe bicarb. 



) 3 oz. Potass, citras. 

2 oz. " iodid. 

3 oz. Pulv. aloes, Soc. 

3 oz. " ipecac, et opii. 
3 oz. " scillse. 



20 two oz. Salt-mouth and Tinct. Bottles. 



1 oz. Antim. et pot. tart. 
\ et I Argent, nit. (cr'sf d). 
1 oz. Ext. colocynth. comp. 
\ oz. 01. tiglii. 
1 oz. Ext. jalapse. 
1 oz. Ferri pulvis. 



1 oz. Creasotum. 

2 oz. Hydr. ox. rub. 

2 oz. " cum creta. 
\ oz. 01. cinnamomi. 
1 oz. Iodinum. 
\ oz. Morphias sulph. 



1 oz. Pulv. digitalis. 

\ oz. 01. limon. 

1 oz. Pulv. gambogia. 

1 oz. " ipecac. 

2 oz. Collodium. 

£ oz. 01. menth. pip. 



4 oz. Cerat. canth. 
4 oz. Ung. hydrarg. 
4 oz. " " nit. 



EXTRACTS AND OINTMENTS, &C. 



4 oz. Pil. hydrarg. 
1 oz. Ext. aconit. 

1 oz. " belladonna. 



1 oz. Ext. conii. 

2 oz. " gentiansc. 

1 oz " byoscyami. 



APPENDIX. 



513 



PACKAGES, ETC. 

Oj Alcohol in pint packers. 4 oz. Ginger. 4 oz. Serpentaria. 

Oj 01. ricini. 3 oz. Foeniculum. 4 oz. Uva ursi. 

Oj 01. terebinth. 3 B Mag. sulph. 2 oz. Cardamom. 

6 oz. Sarsaparilla. 4 oz. Rheum. 8 Gentiana contus. 

4 oz. Senega. 8 oz. Quassia. 

4 oz. Spigelia. 6 oz. Sapo. 

This collection will conveniently fill a case three feet six inches wide and 
four feet high, containing six shelves and two or more drawers, to contain 
packages, &c. 

4th shelf for 14 half-pint Salt-Mouth Bot- 
tles. 

5th shelf for 17 four ounce Salt-Mouth 
and Tinct. Bottles. 

6th shelf for 20 two ounce Salt- Mouth and 
Tinct. Bottles. 



1st shelf for Ointment and Extract Jars 

and Implements. 
2d shelf for 12 pint Salt-Mouth and Tinct. 

Bottles. 
3d shelf for 14 half-pint Tincture Bottles. 



TWENTY-FIVE DOLLAR OUTFIT. 

The following Sixty-One articles can be put up in handsome Ground- Stop- 
pered Bottles, and, Queensioare Jars, neatly labelled, and packed for trans- 
portation, for Twenty Dollars, and the list of Implements attached for Five 
Dollars. 



2 oz. 


Acidum citricum. 


i oz 


Morphia sulph. 


4 oz. 


" sulph. arom. 


2 oz. 


Myrrha. 


8oz. 


Alcohol. 


i oz 


Oleum limonis. 


\ oz. 


Argenti nitras. 


1 oz 


" cinnamomi. 


2 oz. 


Camphora, 


5-o z - 


Pil. cathart. comp. 


4 oz. 


Ceratum cantharidis. 


3 oz. 


Plumbi acetas, 


3 oz. 


Chloroformum. 


2 oz. 


Potassse bicarb. 


2 oz. 


Collodium. 


3 oz. 


" citras. 


4 oz. 


Copaiba. 


3 oz. 


Pulvis acacise. 


3 oz. 


Creta prseparata, or 


3 oz. 


" aloes, Soc. 


2 oz. 


Calcis carb. preecip. 


2 oz. 


" ext. glycyrrhizas 


3 oz. 


Cupri sulph. 


1 oz. 


" ipecacuanhse. 


8oz. 


JEther (Letheon). 


2 oz. 


" " et 


1 oz. 


Extract, aconiti. 


1 oz. 


" opii. 


1 oz. 


" belladonnse. 


2 oz. 


" rhei. 


1 oz. 


" coloc. c. pulv. 


i oz. 


Quinise sulphas. 


1 oz. 


" gentianee. 


2oz. 


Sapo, castil. 


1 oz. 


" hyoscyami. 


4 oz. 


Sodte bicarb. 


1 oz. 


" jalapse pulv. 


8 oz. 


Spt. Eether. nit. 


8 oz. 


" sennse fl'd. 


4 oz. 


" ammon. arom. 


8 oz. 


" Valerianae fl'd. 


4 oz. 


" gether. comp. 


3 oz. 


Ferri subcarb. 


8oz. 


" lavand. comp. 


1 oz. 


" pulvis. 


4 oz. 


Syrup, ipecac. 


8 oz. 


" chlor. tinct. 


8 oz. 


" rhei ar. 


4 oz 


Hydrarg. massa. 


8 oz. 


" scilhe. 


3 oz. 


" chlorid. mit. 


8 oz. 


Tinct. opii. 


1 oz. 


" oxid. rub. 


8 oz. 


" zingiberis. 


8oz. 


Liquor ammonite. 


4 oz. 


Ung. hydrarg. nit. 


4 oz. 


" iodinii comp. 


8 oz. 


Vin. antimon. 


4 oz. 


" hydr. et arsen. iod. 


4 oz. 


Vin. colchici R. 


8 oz. 


" potassse arsenitis. 


3 oz. 


Zinci sulph. 



33 



514 



APPENDIX. 



IMPLEMENTS. 



Scales and -weights. 
4 oz. Grad. measure. 
1 Mortar and pestle. 
1 doz. 1 oz. Vials. 
1 doz. £ oz. " 
\ doz. 2 oz. " 



£ doz. 4 oz. Vials. 

2 Spatulas. 

2 papers Pill boxes. 

2 gross Vial corks. 

1 case Adhesive plaster. 

1 Funnel. 1 Pill tile. 



This collection will conveniently fill a case twenty-one inches wide, and 
four feet high, having seven shelves, to be filled as follows : — 



1st with Ointment Jars and Implements. 
2d "78 oz. Tincture Bottles. 
3d " " 
4th "94 oz. S.M. Bottles. 



I 5th for 9 4 oz. S.M. Bottles. 
I 6th "94 oz. Tincture Bottles. 
7th " 11 2 oz. G.S. Bottles. 



List of Plants groieimj in Philadelphia City limits, and the adjacent parts 
of ffeic Jersey, with their habitat, and time of flowering ', proper time for 
collection, &C. The nomenclature is ehi'fyjhat of Gray, late edition, the 
months expressed in numerals. 



Botanical name. j Common name. 


Flowers. 




When. 


Habitat and Remarks. 


Achillea millefolium Yarrow, milfoil 


6—9 


Herb 


6—9 


All fields. 


Acorus calamus 


Sweet (lag 


5—6 


Rhizome 


Late in 
Autumn 
or early 
Spring 


Swamps. 


Actea alba 


Baneberry 


5 


Root 


Rare. Rocky woods. 


Adiantum pedatum 


Maiden hair 




Leaves 




A beautiful fern. Moist 
woods. 


JEsculus hippocas- 


Horsechestnut 




Young 


Spring 




tanum 






bark 






Agrimonia Eupato- 


Agrimony 


6,7 


Herb and 




Borders of woods. 


ria 






root 






Aletus farinosa 


Stargrass 




Root 




Woods and hills. 


Alisma plantago 


Water plantain 




Leaves 




Swamps. 


Ambrina anthelmin- 


Wormseed 


7,8 


Fruit 


10 


Said to grow in South 


ticum 










Camden. Difficult to 
distinguish from A. 
ambrosioides ; odor 
stronger, which is re- 
tained when dried. 


Ambrina ambro- 




7,8 


Fruit 


10 


Odor same as preced- 


sioides 










ing. 


Ambrina botrys 


Jerusalem oak 


7,8 


Fruit 


10 


Odor dissipated in dry- 


Anagallis arvensis 


Scarlet pimpernel 


6,7 






ing. 
Fields. 


Andromeda manana 


Stagger-bush 


5 






North of Camden ; 
abundant. 


Anemone nemorosa 


Wind flower 


4 






Moist woodlands and 
clearings. 


Anthemis arvensis 


Wild chamomile 


6 and 
after 


Heads 


6,7 


Cultivated grounds; 
sub. for A. nobilis. 


Apocynum androsae- 


Dog's bane 


6 


Root 


Autumn 


Copses and fence rows; 


mifolium 










flowers delicate pink. 


Apocynum cannabi- 


Indian hemp 


6 


Root 


Autumn 


Copses and fence rows; 


num 










flowers white. 


Aquilegia Canaden- 


Wild columbine 


5, 6 






Rocky woods, near 


sis 










streams. 


Aralia nudicaulis 


False sarsaparilla 


6 


Root 


Autumn 


Rocky woods. 


Aralia racemosa 


Wild spikenard 


7 






Rich woods and fence 
rows. 



APPENDIX. 
List of Plants — Continued. 



515 



Botanical name. Common name. 


Flowers. 


Collect. 


When. 


Habitat and Remarks. 


Archangelica atro- 


Purple angelica 


5 


Root and 




Meadows; sub. for An- 


purpurea 






herb 




gelica archangelica 
of Europe. 


Arum triphyllum 


Indian turnip 


5 


Dried 

cormus 


8,9 


Damp woods and mea- 
dows. 


Arctostaphylos uva 

ursi 
Aristolochia serpen- 


Bearberry 




Leaves 


Autumn 


New Jersey woods. 


Virginia snakeroot 


5 


Root 


Autumn 


Moist woods. 


taria 












Asarum Canadense 


Wild ginger 


5,6 


Root 


Autumn 


Moist, rich woodlands. 


Asclepias incarnata 


Flesh-colored as- 
clepias 


6,7,8 


Root 




Meadows ; along 
streams. 


" syriaca 


Wild cotton 


6,7,8 


Root 


Autumn 


Meadows ; along 


(or A. cornuti) 










streams. 


Asclepias tuberosa 


Pleurisy root 


7 


Root 


Autumn 


Sandy old fields; juice 
not milky ; ' orange- 
colored flowers. 


Aspidium filix mas 


Male fern 




Rhizome 


Summer 




Berberis vulgaris 


Barberry 


7,8 


Berries 






Baptisia tinctoria 


Wild indigo 


7 


Root and 

all 
Leaves 




Woods. 


Cassia Marilandica 


Wild senna 


7,8 


8—9 


Near streams; com- 












mon N. of Camden. 


Catalpa cordifolia 


Catawba tree 


6 


Seeds 






Ceanothus Arneri- 


N. Jersey tea 


6 


Root and 


Summer 


Woods. 


canus 






leaves 






Celastrus scandens 


Climbing staff-tree 


6 


Bark 




Thickets and fence 


Chamaelirium tuteum 




6 






Clearings and woods. 


Chelidonium majus 


Celandine 


5 


All 


Autumn 


Near old settlements. 


Chimaphila umbel- 


Pipsissewa 


6 


Leaves 


Autumn 


Common in woods of 


lata 






and stem 




N. exposure. 


Chimaphila maculata 


Spotted winter- 
green 


6 




Autumn 


Common in woods of 
N. exposure. 


Cicuta maculata 


Water hemlock 


7 




7,8 


Alongswampy rivulets. 


Cichorium intybus 


Succory, chickory 


9 


Dried 
root 




Fields near Wissahick- 
on. 


Cimicifuga racemosa 


Black snakeroot 


6,7 


Root 


Autumn 


Common in rich moist 
woods. 


Clematis Virginica 


Virgin's bower 


7, 8 


Leaves 




Moist thickets ; sub. 
for C. erecta. 


Collinsonia Cana- 


Heal-all 


7,8,9 






Rich woods. 


densis 












Comptonia aspleni- 


Sweet fern 


4 


All 




Slaty woods and hill- 


folium 










sides. 


Conium maculatum 


Hemlock 


6,7 


Leaves 
and fruit 


7,8 


Old settlements and 
waste places; an ac- 
tive poison ; when 
partially dry the odor 
is remarkably like 
that of mice. 


Convallaria polygo- 


Solomon's seal 


5 


Root 


Autumn 


Rich woods, and fence 


natum 










rows. 


Convolvulus pandu- 


Wild potato 


6,7,8 


Root 


Autumn 


West of Schuylkill. 


ratus 












Cornus Florida 


Dogwood 


5 


Bark 


Spring 


Woods, everywhere. 


Cornus sericea 


Swamp dogwood 


6,7 


Bark 


Spring 


Swamps ; same pro- 
perties as preceding. 


Cunila mariana 


Dittany 


6,7 


Herb 


6, 7 


^Ilaty hills. 


Cynoglossum offici- 
nale 
Cypripedium acaule 


Hound's tongue 




Root 




Rich woods. 




5 






Swamps; common 












near Camden. 


Cytisus scoparius 


Broom 


6,7 


Tops 


6,7 


Back of Fairmount. 



.10 



APPENDIX. 



List of Plants — Continued. 



Botanical name. 



Common name. ' Flowers, 






Collect. 


Wheu. 


Leaves, 


7— S 


root, and 


8—9 


seed 




Root and 


7,8 


seed 




Fruit and 


10 


bark 




Bark 




All 


7,8 



Habitat an.l Remarks. 



Datura stramonium Jamestown weed 

Daucus carota Wild carrot 

Diospyros Virginiana Persimmon 

Dirca palustris iLeatherwood 

Erigeron Canadense Canada fleabane 
Erigeron Philadel- Philadelphia flea- 

pliicum j bane [scabious] 

Erigeron Hetero- Various-leaved 

phyllura fleabane 

Eryngium Virginia- Button t>nakeroot 

num 
Ervtiironium Ameri- Dogtooth violet 

can urn 
Epiphegus Virgin- Cancer root 

ianus 
Epigaja repens Trailing arbutus 

Euoi jrmua Ameri- Burning bush 

canus 
Eupatorium perfoli- Bone-set 

atom 
Euphorbia corollata Large flowering 

| spurge 
Euphorbia ipecacu- Ipecac, spurge 

anha 
Fumaria officinalis Fumitory 
Galium Apanne ;Goosegrass 

Gaultheria procum- Teaberry 

bens 
Gentiana andreuzer Gentian 

Geranium macula- Crow-foot 

turn 
Geum rivale 



Gillenia trifoliata 



Purple avens 
Indian physic 



HamamelisVirginica Wilch hazel 

Htdeoma pulegioi- Pennyroyal 

des 
Helenium autum- Sneezeweed 

nale 
Helianthemum Ca- Frcst-wced 

nadense 
Hepatica triloba Liverwort 
Heracleum lanatum Cow parsnips 



Heuchera Ameri- 
cana 
Humulus lupulus 



Alum root 
Hop 



Hydrangea arbores- 

cens 
Hydrastis Canaden- Yellow root 

sis 
Hypericum pcrfora- St. John's wort 

turn 
Ilex opaca American holly 



Inula helenium 
Impatiens fulva 



Elecampane 
Touch-me-not 



6,7 

5,6 



7,8 
6,7 



7,8 
5,8 
5,8 



5,7 

5,6 

6,7 

10 

7 



4,5 
5 



6,1 

7 



7,8 
7,8 



All 
Root 



6,7 
Autumn 



Leaves Summer 

Bark and 
seeds \ 
All 8,9 



Root 

Root 

Leaves 
Herb 

Leaves 

Root 

Root 

Root 

Bark and 
leaves 

All 

Leaves, 

flowers 
All 



Leaves Summer 
Root 



Autumn 
Autumn 



Autumn 
Autumn 
Sept. 



Root 

Ripe 

strobiles 

Root 



Autumn 
7,8 
Spring 



Root and Autumn 

bark I 
Summits 7 

Leaves 

and seed 

Root Autumn 



A rank weed. 



A common nuisance 
among farmers. 

Abundant near Cam- 
den and elsewhere. 

Old fields. 

Fields everywhere. 

Fields everywhere. 

Swamps near Camden. 

Swampy woods near 

streams. 
Under beech trees. 

Near Camden woods; 
common. 

Near Wissahickon. 

Meadows. 

Dry soil near Camden. 

Sandy shores, near 
Camden, N. J. 

Fence rows and 
hedges. 

Moist grounds, near 

Redbank. 
[Confounded with G. 

catf is 
Moist fields and fence 

rows. 
I Wet meadows; rare 
. near Philadelphia. 
Rocky woods and hill— 
| sides. 
Woods, near streams. 

Sterile fields. 

Along the Delaware. 

Dry sandy soil, near 

Camden, N. J. 
Woods. 
Meadows, when dried 

very fragrant. 
Rocky hill-sides and 

shady places. 
Cultivated; indigenous 

along streams. 
West bank of Sch'kfl], 

above Manayunk. 
Sch'kill, opposite Ma- 
nayunk; rich woods. 
A common weed in 

fields. 



Low meadows. 
Low grounds. 



APPENDIX. 



517 



List of Plants — Continued. 



Iris versicolor 
Juglans cinerea 

Juniperus communis 

Juniperus Virginiana 

Kalmia latefolia 
Lactuca elongata 

Laurus benzoin 
Lappa major 
Liatris spicata 

Ligustrum vulgare 

Linaria vulgaris 

Liquidambar styra- 
ciflua 

Liriodendron tulipi- 
fera 

Lithospermum offi- 
cinale 

Lobelia inflata 

Lobelia cardinalis 
Lycopodium clava- 

tum 
Lycopus Virginicus 

Lycopus sinuatus 
Magnolia glauca 

Malva rotundifolia 

Marrubium vulgare 
Maruta cotula 



Melissa officinalis 
Melissa clinopodium 
Menispermum Cana- 

dense 
Mentha piperita 
Mentha viridis 
Monarda punctata 
Monarda fistulosa 
Medeola Virginica 
Nepeta. Cataria 

Nepeta glechoma 
Nymphaea odorata 

Oenothera biennis 
Origanum vulgare 

Oxalis acetosella 
Panax quinquefo- 

lium 
Phytolacca decan- 

dra 
Plantago major 

Podophyllum pelta- 
tum 



Blue flag 
Butternut 

Juniper 

Red cedar 

Laurel 
Wild lettuce 

Spice-wood 
Burdock 
Gay feather 

Privet 

Toad-flax 
Sweet gum 

Tulip tree 

Stone-weed 

Indian tobacco 

Cardinal flower 
Club moss 

Bugle weed, pile 

wort 
Water horehound 
Magnolia 

Running mallows 

Horehound 
Dog's fennel 



Balm 

Wild basil 
Moonseed 

Peppermint 
Spearmint 
Horsemint 
Wild bergamot 
Indian cucumber 
Catmint 

Ground ivy 
Water lily 

Primrose 
Marjoram 

Wood sorrel 
Ginseng 

Poke 

Plantain 

May apple 



7,8 
7 



7, S 
6—10 



Collect. 


When. 


Habitat and Uemarks. 


R.hizome 




Meadows. 


Inner brk 


5,6 




of root 






Fruit and 




Collect in the year 


tops 




after flowering. 


Leaves 






and tops 






Leaves 


Summer 


Hilly woods. 


Herb 


7 


Virtue resides in milky 
juice. 


Bark 


Spring 


Moist woods. 


Root 




Collect in Spring. 


Root 




Moist woods (Button 
snakeroot.) 


Leaves, 






flowers 






Herb 


in flower 


Meadows and swamps, 
near tide-water. 


Bark 




Forests. 


Root and 


8,9 


Fields and roadsides ; 


tops 




common. 


Pollen 




Thickets. 


Herb 


8 


Swamps and meadows. 
Swamps. 


Bark 


Spring 


Swamps ; abundant 
near Camden. 


Herb 




Substitute for M. Syl- 
vestris of Europe. 


All 


7,8 


Roadsides and yards ; 
sub. for Anthemis 
nobilis. 


Leaves 


6,7 


Gardens. 
Fence rows. 


Root 




Along Wissahickon. 


All 
All 
Herb 


8 
8 
Summer 


Escaped from gardens. 


Near Camden. 






Along streams. 


Root 




Moist woods. 


All 


Summer 


A common weed on 
farms. 


Herb 


5,6 


Old settlements. 


Root 




Rare ; in ditches south 

of Camden. 
Common everywhere. 


Herb 


Summer 


Dry soil; near Colum- 
bia Railroad bridge. 


All 


6 


Very common. 


Root 


Autumn 


Found, but very rare, 
near Philadelphia. 


Berries 


9 


Common clearings and 


and root 


10 


fence rows. 
Common in fields and 
yards. 


Rhizome 


10 


Moist woods. 



518 



APPENDIX. 



List of Plants — Continued. 



Botanical name. Common name. 


Flowers. 


Collect. 


When. Habitat and Remarks. 


Polygala senega Seneka snakeroot 


5 


Root 


9, 10 


Rare; rich, hilly wood- 
lands. 
Swamps. 


Prinos verticillatus Black alder 


6 


Bark 


10—4 


Populus tremuloides Aspen 


4 


Bark 


9—4 




Prunella vulgaris 


All-heal 


6 


Herb 


6,7 


Waysides; common. 


Prunus Virginiana 


Wild cherry 


5 


Bark 




Common in fields and 


[cerasus serotina] 










forests. 


PulmonariaVirginica Lungwort 








Near Wissahickon. 


Quercus alba White oak 




Bark 


Spring 


Woods. 


Quercus tinctoria Black oak 




Bark 


Spring 


Woods. 


Ranunculusbulbosus Buttercup 


5,6 


All 


5, 6 


Common everywhere. 


Rhus glabrum Sumach 


.7 


Fruit 


9, 10 


Old fields, &c. 


Rhus radicans Poison vine 


6,7 






Fences. 


Rhus toxicodendron Poison oak 


G, 7 


Leaves 




Woods. 


Rhus vernix 


Swamp sumach 




Leaves 




Swamps; powerful 


Rubus trivialis 


Dewberry 


5 


Root 


Autumn 


poison. 


Rubus villosus 


Blackberry 


5 


Root 


Autumn 




Rumex obtusifolius Dock 


6,7 


Root 


Autumn 


Common in fields and 












yards. 


Rumex acetosella 


Sorrel 


5,6 


Leaves 


Summer 


Common pest in fields 
and yards. 


Rumex crispus 


Curled, or sour 

dock 
Wild centaury 


5 


Root 






Sabbatia angularis 


7,8 


All 


8 


A common, showy 












plant. 


Ralix alba 


White willow 


4,5 


Bark 






Sambucus Canaden- 


Elder 


5,6 


Flowers 


5,6 




Sanguinaria Cana- 


Bloodroot 


4 


Rhizome 


Autumn 


Clearings. 


densis 












Sanicula Marilan- 


Sanicle 


7 






Woods. 


Saponaria officinalis Soapwort 








Old settlements. 


Sarracenia purpurea Fly-trap 


7 






Rare; swamps south 












of Camden. 


Sassafras officinale 


Sassafras 


5 


Bark of 
root 


9—4 


Fence rows. 


Scutellaria lateri- 


Skullcap 


7 






Moist places. 


Sisymbrium offici- Hedge mustard 


5 






Waste places. 


nale 










Solanum dulcamara Bittersweet 


7,8 




Autumn 


About houses. 


Solidago odora Sweet golden rod 


8, 9 




B.fl 


Abundant north of 
Camden. 


Symplocarpus fceti- Skunk cabbage 

dus 
Tanacetum vulgare Tansy 


3,4 




9—3 


Swamps. 


7—9 






Escaped from gardens. 


Taraxacum Dens-le- Dandelion 


4-5 


Root 


8,9 


A common weed. 


onis (Leontodon 










Taraxacum) 










Trillium cernuum Three-leaved 


5 






Moist woods. 


1 nightshade 










TephrosiaVirginiana Goafs rue 








Near Camden. 


Triosteum perfolia- Fever root 


6 






Moist fields, near lime- 


turn 








stone. 


Ulmus fulva Slippery elm 


4 


Bark 




Rare. 


Urtica dioica Nettle 








Too common. 


Veratrum viride Am'can hellebore 


6 


Root 


Autumn 


Shady swamps. 


Verbascum thapsus Mullein 








Very common. 


Veronica officinalis Speedwell 


6 






Fields. 


Veronica Virginica Neck weed 








Meadows. 


Viola pedata. Violet 

i 


5 






North of Camden: 
very abundant. 



APPENDIX. 



519 



Preparations used as Articles of Diet eor the Sick and 

Convalescent. 

Arrow Root Pap. 

Take of arrow root one large tablespoonful ; water, one pint. First 
the arrow root well into a paste with a little of the cold 
water ; bring the balance of the water to a boiling heat ; Pig- 243. 

then stir in the arrow root ; let it boil a few minutes ; 
sweeten it with loaf sugar. 

The preparation of arrow root pap, with milk, renders 
it richer and more nutritious, though sometimes not allow- 
able. 

The application of direct heat to preparations of this 
description, always involves the danger of scorching them, 
and the intervention of a water bath is found to prevent 
the accident. The apparatus here figured, is made for the 
purpose, and is a useful utensil in any family. The draw- 
ing explains itself. 

Arrow Root Pap, with MilJe. 

Put in a saucepan, to boil, one pint of milk ; stir very 
smoothly, into a cup of cold milk, a dessertspoonful of 
arrow root ; when the milk boils, stir in the arrow root ; 
continue to stir until it is cooked, which will be in five or 
ten minutes ; then remove it from the fire, and sweeten to 
the taste. 

Toast Water. 

Cut a slice of stale bread half an inch thick, a finger 
length long ; cut off the crust, and toast it quite brown, 
but not scorched ; while hot, put it into a half pint pitcher ; 
pour over half a pint of boiling water; cover it tightly, and when cool, 
remove the bread. 




Mulled Wine. 

Put cinnamon or allspice (to the taste) into a cup of hot water to steep ; 
add three eggs, well beaten, with sugar ; heat to a boil, a pint of wine ; then 
put in the spice and eggs, while boiling, and stir them until done, which will 
be in three minutes. 



Jelly for Invalids. 

Cut a penny roll into thin slices ; toast them a light brown ; then boil 
gently in a quart of water until it jellies; strain it upon a few shavings 
of lemon-peel ; sweeten, and add, if liked, a little wine and nutmeg. 

Eggnog. 

Take the yelks of eight eggs ; beat them with six large spoonfuls of pul- 
verized loaf sugar; when this is a cream, add the third part of a nutmeg, 
grated ; into this stir one tumblerful of good brandy, and one wineglass of 
good Madeira wine ; mix them well together; have ready the whites, beaten 



520 APPENDIX. 

to a stiff froth, and beat them into the mixture ; when all are well mixed, 
add three pints of rich milk. 

Panada. 

Cut two slices of stale bread half an inch in thickness; cut off the crust; 
toast them a nice brown ; cut them into squares of two inches in size ; lay 
them in a bowl, sprinkle a little salt over them, and pour on a pint of boiling 
water ; grate a little nutmeg. 

Tapioca. 

Soak two tablespoonfuls of very clean tapioca in two teacups of cold water 
over night; in the morning, add a little salt, one pint of milk, or water, if 
milk cannot be taken; simmer it until quite soft; stir well while cooling; 
when done, pour into a bowl, and, if allowed, add sugar, a spoonful of wine, 
and a little nutmeg. 

Rice Jelly. 

Take of rice, one-quarter of a pound ; white sugar, half a pound ; water, one 
quart. Boil these well together, carefully stirring them till the whole becomes 
a glutinous mass. Strain off into a dish or form. When cool, it is fit for 
use. This preparation may be flavored with rose-water, orange-flower water, 
lemon-juice, as may best suit the palate of the patient, or as directed by the 
physician. 

Iceland Moss J< !!>/. 

Take of Iceland moss two ounces ; water, one quart. First wash the moss 
• in some cold water; then put it into the quart of water, and boil slowly till 
very thick, adding white sugar till sufficiently sweet, then strain through a 
cloth. "When cold, it will be fit for use, and may be eaten with spices, if 
allowed. Irish moss jelly may be prepared in the same way. 

Sago .!< fly. 

Take four tablespoonfuls of Bago, one quart of water, juice and rind of one 
lemon; sweeten to the ta^te. Mix all the ingredients well together; let it 
stand for half an hour; then put it on to boil, till the particles are entirely 
dissolved; it should be constantly stirred. It is very much improved by the 
addition of wine. 

Fi et Jelly. 

Boil two calves' feet in one gallon of water, down to a quart; then strain 
it, and, when cold, skim off all the fat : take up all the clear jelly. Put the 
jelly into a saucepan, with a pint of wiue, half a pound of loaf sugar, the 
juice of four lemons, the white of six or eight eggs beaten into a froth. Mix 
all well together. Set the saucepan upon a clear fire, and stir the jelly till it 
boils. When it has boiled ten minutes, pour it through a flannel bag till it 
runs clear. 



APPENDIX. 521 



Essence of Beef . 

This is prepared from lean meat, by cutting it into small pieces, adding a 
little salt, then introducing into a wide-mouth bottle, corked tightly, and 
heating it gradually by immersing in a kettle of water, to which heat is ap- 
plied till it boils. After a few hours digesting in this way, the juice is drawn 



Beef Tea. 

Take of lean beef one-quarter of a pound, a pint and a half of water, salt 
sufficient to season it. When it begins to boil, skim it five minutes ; then 
add two blades of mace ; continue the boiling ten minutes longer, when it 
will be ready for use. 

Chicken Broth. 

Clean half a chicken; on it pour one quart cold water, and a little salt; 
put in a spoonful of rice : boil two hours, very slowly, and tightly covered ; 
skim it well ; just before using it, put in a little chopped parsley. 

Chicken Jelly. 

Cut up a chicken; put it into a stone jar ; break all the bones; cover 
very closely ; set the jar into boiling water ; keep it boiling three hours and 
a half; strain off the liquor; season with salt and a very little mace. 

Rice Jelly. 

Boil a quarter of a pound of the best rice flour, with half a pound of loaf 
sugar, in a quart of water, until the whole becomes one glutinous mass ; strain 
off the jelly, and let it stand to cool ; this is nutritious and light. 

Slippery Elm Bark Jelly. 

Four large spoonfuls of the bark, chipped ; pour on it one quart of cold 
water ; let it stand all night ; stir it, and let it settle ; the nest morning pour 
off the water; slice the rind of a lemon very thinly, and, with the juice, put 
it in the water strained : let it simmer, very gently, fifteen minutes ; then 
sweeten, and pour in a mould to cool and harden; take out the rind before 
putting in the mould. 

Wine Whey. 

Boil a pint of new milk ; add to it a glass or two of white wine'; put it 
on the fire until it just boils again; then set it aside till the curd settles ; 
pour off the clean whey ; sweeten to the taste ; cider is as good as wine to 
curdle, if it is good country cider. 

Corn Meal, or Oatmeal Gruel. 

Put in a clean saucepan one pint of water to boil ; when boiling, mix of 
oatmeal two large spoonfuls, in a half pint of milk, and a little salt ; stir this 
into the boiling water; stir it well; let it simmer thirty minutes; then strain 
it through a hair-sieve ; if the patient can bear it, a large spoonful of the 
best brandy stirred in after it is strained and sweetened, and a little grated 
nutmeg ; if corn meal is used, stir the dry corn meal into the boiling water ; 



522 



APPENDIX. 



two large spoonfuls to a pint of boiling water, and a half new milk; season 
as the other. 

Vegetable Soup. 

Take two white potatoes, one onion, a piece of well-baked bread. Put 
these into a clean stewpan, in one quart of water; boil then down to a pint; 
throw into the vessel some parsley or celery; cover the vessel closely ; remove 
it from the fire, and allow the herbs to steep, while the liquor is cooling, under 
cover ; season to the taste. 

Castilloes Powders. 

Take of Powdered tragacanth 

Powdered sago 

Powdered salep 

Sugar, each, one ounce; 

Prepared oyster-shell, two drachms. 
Mix them thoroughly, and fold into papers containing each one drachm. 

Directions. — Mix a powder with four tablcspoonsful of cold milk in a 
bowl. Then transfer it to a milk-pan, and, while .stirring, pour upon it gra- 
dually one pint of boiling milk, and boil fur a quarter of an hour. Sugar 
may be added to the taste. 

Recipes for some of the more Important Patent Medicines. 

Daily's Carminative. 

The published recipes for this, as found in the formularies, are not those 
used generally by druggists. Some of the ingredients in the original recipes 
are procurable with difficulty, and add so much to the expense of the prepa- 
ration, that by common consent they arc left out. The formula, as given by 
the College of Pharmacy, is nearly identical with that which I have used for 
a number of years, and 1 give it below. 

Take of Carbonate of magni 

( 'arbonate of potassa . 



• 5vj 


75. 


• 3>j 


3.125 


• 3xvj 


200. 


• • • f.siij 


op. 37.5. 


. Ov 


1000. 



Sugar 

Tincture of opium 
Water 
Oils of caraway, 

Fennel, and peppermint, of each . n^x. 

(To the above may be added, 

French brandy . . . . f.^iv. 

Prepared chalk . . . . . sij.) 

Triturate together the essential oils, sugar, magnesia (and prepared chalk, 
if added), then add the water, and afterwards the remainder. 

Dalby's carminative contains one grain of opium to about an ounce. 

Dewees' Carminative. 



Take of Carbonate of magnesia 


• Sjas. 


Sugar ...... 


• • • Siij- 


Tincture of assafcetida 


. • • f.S-ij 


Tincture of opium .... 


. . . m- 


"Water ...... 


. Oiss. 


Triturate together until they are mixed. 





APPENDIX 




Bateman's Pectoral 


Drops. 


Take of Diluted alcohol . 

a Red sanders, rasped . 


. Cong 

. 3ss 


Digest for 24 hours, filter, and add 




Opium, in powder 
Catechu, in powder 
Camphor .... 
Oil of anise 


. gss 
. |ss 

• §ss 

• f3J 



523 



Parts. 
1000. 
31.25. 



31.25. 
31.25. 
31.25. 

7.81. 



Digest for 10 days. 

This preparation contains about one grain each of opium, catechu, and 
camphor, to the f^ss, corresponding in strength with tinctura opii campho- 
rata, U. S. 



Godfrey's 


Cordial. 


Parts. 


of Tincture of opium 


■ flvj 


op. 34.5 ^| 


Molasses (sugar-house) 


Oiv 


B f Q s l-iooo. 

55L7J 


Alcohol . 


f^viij 


Water 


Ovjss 


Carbonate of potassa . 


3v 


57.5 


Oil of sassafras . 


f5J 


11. 



Dissolve the carbonate of potassa in the water, add the molasses, and heat 
over a gentle fire till they simmer, remove the scum which rises, and add the 
laudanum and oil of sassafras, having previously mixed them well together. 

This preparation contains a little over one grain of opium to the ounce, 
and is about half the strength of the foregoing. 



Balsam of Honey. 




Take of Balsam tolu . 


• Ij- 


Benzoic acid ...... 


. 3iss. 


Honey . . . . 

Opium (powd.) 

Cochineal ...... 


• 3tf- 

• 3J- 


French brandy ..... 


• Oiij. 


Mix, and digest together for a few days, then filter. 





Composition Powders. (Thompsonian?) 

Take of Powd. bayberry root ..... 

" ginger ...... 

" cayenne ...... 

" cloves . 

Mix, by passing through a sieve. 

1 Substituted by Caramel 5HJ. 



Ibj. 
ibss. 

a- 



524 



APPENDIX. 



Macerate and filter. 



No. 6. Hot Drops. (Thompsonian.') 

Take of Capsicum (powd.) . • 3J- 

Myrrh (contus.) . ■ . 3*iv. 

Alcohol . . . . Oij. 

Or thus, 

Take of Tincture of capsicum . . Oj. 

" of myrrh . . Oiss. 
Mix them. 

Turlington' 's Balsam of Life. 

The officinal tinctura benzoini composite is sold under this name, but the 
druggists who put it up in the peculiar and very odd shaped vials, in which 
it was originally vended in wrappers descriptive of its virtues, use various 
recipes for making it. The following is that published by the Philadelphia 
College of Pharmacy, and used in many of the best establishments. The 
original recipe for this, as filed in the office of rolls in London, contained 28 
ingredients. 

Take of Alcohol Oiv. 

Benzoin . 

Liquid storax . 

Socotrine aloes . 



Peruvian balsam 
Myrrh . 
Angelica . 
Balsam tolu 
Extract of liquorice 
Digest for 10 days and strain 



British Oil 



Take of Oil of turpentine 

*' il;ixsced . 

" amber 

" juniper . 

Petroleum (Barb 

" (American) 

Mix them well together. 



3VJ. 
5'j- 

3 S3. 

II 

3 S3. 

5U- 

5'j- 



f5*iv. 
Oiij. 
Oj. 
fgs& 



Hooper's Female Pills. 
Take of Aloes .... 
Pried sulphate of iron 
or Crystallized sulphate of iron 
Extract of black hellebore . 
Myrrh 
Soap 

Powd. canella 
" g m g er 

1000 parts. 
Beat them well together into a mass with syrup, and divide into pills, 
each containing two and a half grains. 



• Sviij 


400 parts. 


• 5>j, 5'ss } 

• 3iv } 


200 " 


• Sij 


100 " 


• 5U 


100 " 


• 5ij 


100 " 


• l\ 


50 " 


• si 


50 « 





APPENDIX. 


525 




Anderson's Scots' Pills. 




Take of Aloes 


. gxxiv 


787. 


Soap . 
Colocynth . 
Gamboge . 
Oil of anise 


• • • • 3j 

• • • • Ij 

. . . . fsss 


181. 

33. 
33. 
16. 



1000 parts. 

Let the aloes, colocynth, and gamboge, be reduced to a very fine powder, 
then beat them and the soap with water into a mass of a proper consistence, 
to divide into pills, each containing three grains. 



Worm Tea. 



Take of Senna, 

Manna, 

Spigelia, of each 

Fennel seed 

Worm seed 

Savine 

Bitartrate of potassa 
Make into one package. 



3J- 
3 SS - 
9ij. 
5*3- 



Directions. — Pour into this a quart of boiling water, and let it digest for 
ten or fifteen minutes; of the clear liquid sweetened, give to childrem two 
years old and upwards, a small teacupful loarm, morning, noon, and night, 
on an empty stomach. It may be given three or four days successively, if 
necessary. 

The fluid extract of pink root and senna, TJ. S. P., may be substituted for 
this, and has the advantage of being ready for use without the trouble of 
extemporaneous preparation. 



INDEX 



Absinthium, oil, 286 
Absolute alcohol, 265 
Abuse of opium, 133 
Acacia, 248 

syrup of, 190 
Aceta, 123 

syllabus of, 125 
Acetated tincture of opium, 128 
Acetate of copper, 384 

lead, 390 

morphia, 314 

soda, 343 

zinc, 387 

potassa, 338 
Acetic acid, 123, 244, 301 

dilute, 124 

extract of colchicum, 159 

fermentation, 262 
Acetone, 245 

mixture, 474 
Acetum, 244 

colchici, 125 

destillatum, 123 

opii, 127, 129 

scillse, 125 
Acida (mineral), 325 

(vegetable), 298 
Acid, acetic, 123, 244, 301 

benzoic, 304 

carbonic, 327 

citric, 300 

ellagic, 303 

gallic, 303 

hydrocyanic, dil., 305—307 

lecanoric, 297 

malic, 301 

meconic, 308 

metagallic, 303 

muriatic, 328 
dilute, 328 

nitric, 328 

dilute, 329 

nitro-muriatic, 330 

nitroso-nitric, 329 

oxalic, 301 

pectic, 301 



Acid, phosphoric, 331 

pyrogallic, 303 

polygalic, 295 

sulphuric, 330 
aromat., 331 
dilute, 330 

tannic, 303 

tartaric, 300 

valerianic, 305 
Acids, astringent, 301 

balsamic, 304 

fruit, 300 
Aconitia, 312 

ointment, 488 
Aconitum, extracts of, 155, 157 

liniment of, 494 

tinctures of, 113, 115, 119 
Adapter for eth. displacement, 110 
Adjuvants, in prescription, 427 

for syrups, 185 
Alberty's antibilious pills, 449 
Albumen, 255 

ovi, 256 
Alcohol, 111, 262 

blast lamp., 138 

diluted, 112 

lamps, 495, 136 
Alcoholic fermentation, 262 
Alkalies and their salts, 332 
Alkaline solution, Physick's, 97 
Alkaloids, 309 

testing of, 324 
Allium, ointment of, 489 

syrup of, 188 
Almoud, syrup, 190 

oil, 275 

mixture, 474 
Althein, 296 
Alumen, 360 

exsiccatum, 360 
Aluminium, 360 
Alteratives, 451, 462 
Aloin, 296 

Aloes and assafoet. pills, 443 
Aloes tincture, 112 

■wine, 121 

and myrrh, tincture, 116 
Aloetic pills, 447 



528 



Ammonite acetas liq., 348 

bicarbonas, 348 

carbonas, 348 

liquor, 346 

fortior, 346 

murias, 346 

spiritus, 347 

aromaticus, 347 

lozenges, 214 
Ammoniated copper, 384 

iron, 370 

tinctures, 117 
Amorphous quinia, 316 
Amygdalin, 296 
Amylum, 250 

Analytical table of prescrip., 410 
Animal charcoal, 243 
Annular corn plasters, 492 
Anodyne pills. 44 4 
Antacid for indigestion, 404 
Anthelmintic suppositories, 453 
Anthemis, infusion, 96 

syrup, 190 
Antidote to acids. 827 
Anti-fever combination, 460 
Antibilious mixture. 407 

pills, 447 
Anderson's pili 
Antimonial powder, 398 

ointment, 486 

vine 
Antimonii et pot. tart.. 397 
-ulphuretum. 397 

Bulphuretom, 
aurum, 397 
prcecip., 896 

Apothcme, 150 

Apparatus for distillation, 217—22:; 

evaporation, 162 

for lozenges, 20'.' 
Application of heat, 1 \~> 

of radiated heat, 153 
Approximate measurement, 42 

table of, 43 
Aqua acidi carbonici, 85 

destillata. ^U7 

fortis, 328 

phagasdenica, 477 

ros;e, 85 
Aquse medicatac, 76, 77 
Arabin, 24^ 

Argand burner for gas, 141 
Argenti cyanuretum, 306, 395 

oxidum, 395 

nitras, 393 

fusus, 394 
Argentum, 393 
Argols, 343 
Arnica, tincture, 495 
Armcina, 320 
Aromatic blackberry syrup, 202 

confection, 206 

pills, 450 



Aromatic powder, 441 

sulphuric acid, 331 

tincture of rhubarb, 120 

vinegar, 231 

■nine. 121 
Arrow root. 250 

pap, 519 
Arrangement of apparatus, 496, 497 

outfit, 499 
Arsenicum, 399 
Arsenite of potassa, 400 
Art of combining medicines, 425 

selecting medicines, 423 
Arterial sedatives, 445 

stimulants, 443, 404 
Artificial syrup of raspberry, 203 
Asarum Canadense, oil of, 182 
Asiatic tincture, 120 
Asparagin, 296 
Assafoetida, 1 1". 

mixture, 465 

syrup. 197 

tincture, 116 

wine. 166 
Astringents, 436, 437, 438, 460 
Atropia, 821 
Aurantii cort. syrup., 185 



Balsamic acids, 304 
Balsam of honey, 523 
Balsams, 290-1 
Harks, collection of, 63 
Darky Hour, 251 
water, 154 
Barii chloridum, 

I the prescription, 425 
. 248 
Bateman's dropf 
Baths, 

water and sand, 146 
Bebeerina, 328 
Becker's eye balsam, 488 

. 621 
Beer, ginger, 263 

pip;i 

tar, 122 
Belladonna, extract, 155 

ointment, 487 

tincture, 113 
Benzoated tincture, 230 
Benne leaves, 253 

oil. - 
Benzoic acid, 304 
Berzelius' lamp, 137 
Berberina, 312 
Biborate of soda, 346 
Bicarbonate of ammonia, 348 

of magnesia, 250 



INDEX. 



529 



Bicarbonate of potassa, 384 

of soda, 841 
Bichloride of mercury, 402 
Bicyanide of mercury, 407 
Biniodide of mercury, 404 
Bismuthi subnitras, 395 
Bismuthum, 395 
Bisulphuret of mercury, 406 
Bitartrate of potassa, 344 
Bitter tincture of iron, 118 
Bittern, 36' 
Blackberry brandy, 202 

syrup, 201, 202 
Black drop, 127, 129 

oxide of mercury, 407 

snakeroot, fluid extract, 180 

sulphuret of antimony, 396 

wash, 477 
Blistering cerate, 484 

collodion, 485 

tissues, 485 
Blue mass, 433 

ointment, 487 

vitriol, 383 
Bone, 261 
Bone black, 243 
Borax, 346 
Bottles, American, 18 

furniture, 18 

German, 17 

labelling of, 21, 605 

packing, 20 

salt-mouth, 17, 18 

specia, 20 

specific gravity, 46 

uniformity in, 498 
Brandy, 122 
British oil, 524 
Bromide of iron, 379 
solution, 365 
syrup, 379 

potassium, 865 
Bromine, preparations, 364 
Brown mixture, 474 
Brucia, 821 
Buchu, fluid extract, 172, 173 

comp., 173 
Butyric fermentation, 262 



Caffein, 296 
Cake meal, 252 
Calamine, 385 

cerate, 486 
Calcined carb. soda, 840 
Calcis carbonas, 351 

chloridum, 350 

phosphas, 352 
Calomel, 403 

pills, 446 

powders, 451 

34 



Calomel and jalap powder, 448 
Calisaya extract, 161 
Calx, 350 

chlorinata, 351 
Camphorated tincture of opium, 127 
Camphors, 287 
Camphor and opium pills, 445 

liniment, 494 

mixture, Hope's, 461 
Parrish's, 461 

tincture, 116 

water, 77 
Candy, 215, 253 

cough, 216 
Cannabis, extract, 162 

tincture, 119 
Canna root, 250 
Cane sugar, 248 

cerate, 484 
Cantharis, liniment, 494 

tincture, 114 

ointment, 489 
Capsicum, oil of, 182 

syrup, 192 

tincture, 114 
Caramel, 253 
Carbo-animalis, 243 

purified, 243 

ligni, 243 
Carbolic acid, 246 
Carbonate of ammonia, 348 
mixture, 464 

magnesia, 355, 356 

manganese, 380 

potassa, 333 

powder and pill, 443 

soda, 340 

baryta, 359 

lead, 391 

zinc, 386 
Carbonic acid, 327, 85 

water, 85 
Cardamom oil, 182 

Tinctures, 114 
Carrageenin, 247 
Carrageen, 251 

paste, 208 

syrup, 192 
Casein, 255 

Castillon's powders, 522 
Castor, tincture of, 116 
Castor oil, 276 

mixture, 466 
Cataplasms, 252, 493 
Catechu, 504 

tincture, 113 
Cathartic pills, comp., 447 
Cathartics, 446, 466 
Cathartin, 295 
Caustic potassa, 338 

lunar, 394 
Cellulose, 234 
Centigrade thermometer, 145 



530 



INDEX. 



Cerates and ointments, 479 

syllabus, 481 
Ceratum calaminre, 486 

cantharidis, 484 

cetacei, 482 

plumbi subacet., 490 

resinae, 483 

comp., 483 

sabinae, 487 

saponis, 490 

simplex, 482 

zinci carb., 487 
Cerebral stimulants, 444 
Chalk, prepared, 349 

mixture, 460 

powders, 437 
Chamomile oil, 286 

syrup, 190 

tea, 96 
Chapman's dinner pills, 449 
Chicken broth, 521 

jelly. 521 
Chimaphila decoction, 154 

syrup, 191 
Chinoidine, 162, 316, 319 
Chlorate of potassa, 339 
Chloride of ammonium, 346 

barium, 360 

solution, 360 

calcium, 350 

solution. 850 

iron, tiiictur 

mercury, 403 

sodium. 8 1" 

zinc, 387 
Chlorinated lime. 351 

soda, solution, 8 li 
Chlorine watt I 
Chlorohv b 
Chloroform, 270 

paregoric, 465 
Chlorophyll.-. 
Cimicifuga, extract. 161 

fluid extract, 180 
Cinchona alkaloids, 816, 819 

decoctions, 1 6 1 

infusions, 95, 00 

extracts 151 

fluid extract, 170 

tincture, 113 
comp., 113 
ferrated, 1 1 
and quassia, 117 
Cinchonia, 317 

sulphate, 316 

pills, 439 
Cinnamon, oil, 284. 286 

tinctures, 114 

■water. 77 
Cissampelina, 312 
Citrate, iron. 373 

iron and quin., 374 

iron, syrups, 374 



Citrate- 
magnesia, prepared, 359 
" soluble, 358 
solution, 357 

potassa, 339 

solution, 470 
Citric acid, 300 
Codeia, 315 
Cod-liver oil, 278 

with biniod. mere. 475 
Colchicia, 323 
Colchicum, extract. 159 

mixture, 469 

tincture, 113 

wines, 121 

vinegar, 125 
Cold cream, 482 
Colocynth, extract, 158 
Collyria, 497 
Cologne water, 229 
Collodion, 235, 2 12 

blistering, 485 

Rands. 240 
Colomba, tincture, 113 

infusion, 95 
Coloring substances, 207, 299 
Common salt, 340 
Comfrey, 261 
Composition powders 
Concentrated extract -. 
Condenser, Liebig's, 219 
Confection, aromatic, 206 

black pepper, 206 

for pills, 200 

opium. 206 

orange peel, 205 
. 205 

senna. 206 
Conia, 315 
Conium, extract, 155, 157 

tincture, 113 
Conserres, 204 
Continuous displacement. 106 
Corn fecula, 261 

plasters, 260 
Copaiva. 291 

. 434 

mixture, 469 
Corrosive sublimate, 402 
Coryza lozenges, 213 
Corks, 86, 

borer, 220 

presser, 505 
Cough candy, 216 

lozenge, Parrislrs. 216 

Wistar's, 212 

Jackson's, 214 

Cort. aurant. syrup, 1^5 

confection. 206 

Counter for dispensing, 496 

lamp, 497 
Court-plaster, 260 
Cow's milk, 2-57 



INDEX. 



531 



Coxe's hive syrup, 187 
Cream of tartar, 344 

draught, 468 
Cream, 257 

syrups, 204 
Creasote, 245 

lotion, 477 

ointment, 481 

mixture, 462 
Creta, 349 
Croton oil, 278 

pills, 449 
Cubebs, fluid extract, 168 

mixture, 468 

tincture, 114 
Cubebin, 296 
Cusparin, 296 
Cyanhydric acid, 306 
Cyanuret of potassium, 308 

mercury, 407 

silver, 306, 395 

zinc, 388 
Crucibles, 335 
Crucible jacket, 139 
Cupri subacetas, 383 

sulphas, 383 
Cuprum, 383 

ammoniatum, 384 



Dalby's carminative, 522 

Daturia, 322 

Decoction, bittersweet, 154 

cetraria, 154 

chimaphila, 154 

cinchona flav., 154 
rub., 154 

dulcamara, 154 

hsematoxylon, 154 

hordeum, 154 

Iceland moss, 154 

logwood, 154 

oak bark, 154 

pipsissewa, 154 

process of, 149 

quercus alba, 154 

sarsaparilla comp., 154 

senega, 154 

taraxacum, 154 
Delphinia, 311 
Deshler's salve, 482 
Dewees' carminative, 522 

colchicum mixture, 469 

tincture of guaiac, 120 
Diastase, 249 
Diet for the sick, 519 
Digestion, 93 
Digitalin, 293, 296 
Digitalis, extract, 159 

infusion, 96 

tincture, 113 



Diluents in prescription, 425 

form of powders, 435 
Diluted acetic acid, 123 

alcohol, 112 

hydrocyanic acid, 305-7 

muriatic acid, 328 

nitric acid, 329 

phosphoric acid, 331 

sulphuric acid, 330 
Disinfecting solution, 342, 392 
Dispensatory, U. S., 55 
Dispensing liquid, 503 

medicines, 495 

office, 496 
Displacement apparatus, 34, 98 — 103 

applied to hot liquids, 108 

by ether, 109 

by steam, 108 

continuous, 106 

history of, 97 

infusion, 94 

points to be observed, 107 

process of, 97, 103, 110 
Distillation, alcohol, 265 

apparatus, &c, 216, 224 

process of, 225 
Distilled oils, 227 

vinegar, 123 

water, 227 
Diuretics, 449 
Donovan's solution, 40 
Dover's powder, 450 
Dried alum, 361 
Dried carbonate of soda, 340 
Drop machines, 44, 502 
Drug mill, 32, 71 
Drugs drying, 67 

garbling of, 66 

powdering of, 66 

selection of, 66 
Dulcamara extract, 158 

infusion, 95 

syrup, 194 



E. 



Earths and their preparations, 349 
Eau de cologne, 229 
Effervescent magnesia, 359 
Effervescing draught, 472 

fever powders, 472 
Egg, 256 
Eggnog, 519 
Elecampane, 251 
Electuaries, 204 
Elixir clauderi, 97 

vitriol, 331 
Elm bark, 252 
Elaterin, 296 
Emetia, 320 
Emetics, 445 
Emmenagogues, 451 



532 



INDEX. 



Emmenagogue pills, Otto's, 451 
Emplastra, syllabus of, 490 
Emplastrum adhaesivum, 491 

ammoniac, 491 

assafoetida, 491 

belladonna, 491 

calefaciens, 491 

epispasticum, 484 

ferri, 491 

hydrargyri, 491 

cum. ammon., 491 

picis Burgundica, 491 

cum. cantharide, 491 

plumbi, 272, 389 

resinre, 491 
Emulsion castor oil, 4G7 

cubebs, 4G8 
Envelops for powders, 500 
Ergotin, 161, 295 
Ergot, fluid extract, 170 

oil, 182 

■wine, 121 
Errors in prescription, 410 
Essence of beef, 521 

ot inillefleurs, 230 

of patchouly, 230 
Essences for perfumer 
Essential * <i 1 h , 280 
Ether, 20c 

Ethereal displacement, 109 
Ethereal oil, 266 
Ethereal solution of cotton. 285 — 241 

tinctures, 126 

tinct. canth., 126 
cubebs, 126 
Ethiops mineral. 106 
Evaporation, apparatn . 
dish, 162 

process, 152 — 155 
Excipicnts in prescription, 427 

pill mass, 482, 486 

mixtures, 461 
Kxcito-niotor pills, 1 15 
Expectorants, 473 

Extemporaneous pharmacy, 409 
Externa] applications, 17'. 
Extracta, 155 

fluida, 181 
Extractive matt 
oxidized, 160 

Extracts as excipiem- 
concentrated, 168 

how kept, 22, 105 
uses of. 105 

physical properties of, 1C4 
preparation of, 154 
resinoid, 163 
Extract, aconite. 155, 157 
belladonna, 155, 157 
black snakeroot, 161 
buchu, fluid, 172, 173 
calisav.i. 101 
fluid, 170 



Extract— 

cannabis, 162 
cimicifuga, 1G1 

fluid, 180 
cinchona, fluid, 170, 172 

flav., 158 

rub., 158 
colchicum acet, 159 
colocynth, 158 
conium, 155, 157 
cubebs, fluid, 168 
digitalis, 159 
dulcamara, 158 
ergot, fluid, 176 
galls, fluid, 180 
gentian, 158 

fluid, 179 
hematoxylon, 168 
hellebore, 158 
bops, 162 

hydrangea, fluid, 17:'. 
hyoscyamus, 155 
ignatia amai 
jalap, 158 
juglan 

krameria, 158 
lettuce, 162 
liquoi i 
lobelia, 162 

fluid. 17'." 
lupulin, 160 
nux vomica, 157 
opium, 168 
pareira brava, 161 
pepper, fluid, I*;' 
pink root, 107 
podophyllum, 168 
poppy beads, 1 62 
quassi 
rhatai 
rhubai 

fluid, 107 

and senna, fluid, 175 
sarsaparilla, 168 

fluid. 107 
senna, fluid, 107 
serpent aria, fluid, 170, 177 

ionium, 155. 157 
taraxacum, 159 

fluid. 177, 178 
uva ursi, 162 
valerian, 101 

fluid, 107 
Eye-washi - . 178 



Fahrenheit thermomcfr. 145 
Farinaceous principle 
Fecula corn, 251 
Fel bovinum, _ 
Fermentation, 201 



INDEX. 



533 



Fermentum cerevisise, 263 
Ferri bromidum, 379 

brornidi liquor, 364 
syrup, 379 

carbonas pilulse, 435 

citras, 373 

liquor, 373 
syrup, 374 

chloridi, tinct., 370 

et potassse tartras, 375 

et quinias citras, 374 

ferrocyanuretum, 376 

iodidum, 377 

iodidi, liquor, 378 

lactas, 375 

nitratis, liquor, 376 

oxidum, hydratum, 373 

persulphas, 372 

phosphas, 370 

phosphas, syrupus, 353 

protocitrate, syr., 375 

protonitrate, syr., 377 

subcarbonas, 370 

sulphas, 369 

exsiccat., 370 

valerianas, 379 
Ferrum, 368 

ammoniatum, 372 
Ferrocyanuret of iron, 376 
Fever and ague mix., 463 

powders, effervescing, 472 
Fibrin, 255 
File, 220 
Filter, construction of, 80-82 

support, 83 
Filtering paper, 36, 79 
Filtration, 78, 85 

volatile liquids, 89 
Flask and safety tube, 224 
Flaxseed, 252 

meal, 252 

oil, 276 
Flemming's tinct. aconite, 119 
Flour, barley, 251 

elm bark, 251 
Flores, martiales, 372 
Flowers, collection and drying, 64 

of sulphur, 364 

of zinc, 387 
Fluid extract, buchu, 172-173 
comp., 173 

cimicifuga, 180 

cinchona, 170-172 

cubebs, 168 

ergota, 176 

galls, 180 

gentian, 179 

hydrangea, 173 

lobelia, 179 

pepper, 168 

pink root, 167 

rhubarb, 167 

rhubarb and senna, 175 



Fluid extract — 

sarsaparilla, 167 

senna, 167 

serpentaria, 176-177 

taraxicum, 177-179 

valerian, 167 
Folding of powders, 499 
Folise sesami, 253 
Formyle, terchloride, 270 
Fowler's solution, 400 
French gelatin, 259 

hand furnace, 136 
Frostwort, 193 
Fruit acids, 300 

syrups, 198-204 
Furnaces, 135-136 
Furniture bottles, 18 

of the office, 496 
Fused nitrate of silver, 394 

potash, 33 
Funnel, 34 

use of, 83 



Gaduin, 280 
Galbanum pills, 493 
Gallic acid, 303 
Gallipots, 22 
Galls, fluid extract, 180 

ointment, 486 

syrup, 197 

tincture, 113 
Garbling drugs, 66 
Gargles, 478 
Gas for fuel, 143 

furnaces, 142, 497 

burners, 140 

tube, flexible, 139 
Gelatin, 259 
Gentian, extract, 158 

fluid extract, 179 

tincture, comp., 113 
Genticin, 296 
Gillenia, syrup, 194 
Gin, Holland, 263 
Ginger beer, 263 

syrup, 199 

oil of, 181 

piperoid, 181 

tea, 95 
Glacial phosphoric acid, 331 
Glauber's salt, 340 
Glucose, 248 
Glycerin, 273 
Glycyrrhizin, 248 
Glycyrrhiza, extract, 162 
Godfrey's cordial, 523 
Golden sulphur of antimony, 397 
Gossypium, 235 
Graduated measures, 44 
Graduation of hydrometers, 50 
Grape sugar, 248 



534 



INDEX. 



Grammar of prescription, 415 
Green iodide of mercury, 405 
Griffith's myrrh mixture, 463 
Gruel, 521 
Guaiacum, 289 

tincture, 116 

ammon., 117 
Dewees, 120 
Guiding rod, 84 
Gum, 251-252 

paste, 207 

resins, 290 



Htematoxylon, extract, 159 

decoction, 151 
Haerlem oil, 367 
Hair dye, 366 

oil, 277 

restorative, 277 
Ilartshorne's chloroform paregoric, 4C5 
Heading of prescriptions, 418 
Heat as applied to pharmacy, 145 

measurement, 145 
Heavy oil of wine, 268 

carbonate of magnesia, 256 
Herbs, collection and drying of, 64 

Sharker's, 64 

cultivation of, 65 
Herapath's test, 319 
Hellebore, extract, 158 

tincture, 114 
Hiera picra, 447 
Hive syrup, 187 
Hoffmann's anodyne, 268 
Holland gin, 263 
Honey, 254 

Hooping-cough mixture, 475 
Hooper's pills. 52 1 
Hordeum, decoction, 154 
Hot drops, 524 
Humulus, extract of, 162 

tincture, 113 
Hydrargyri, chloridum corr - 
mite, 403 

cyanuretum, 407 

iodidum, 405 

rubrum, 406 

oxidum nigrum, 407 
rubrum, 406 

piluloe, 433 

sulphas, flav., 404 

sulphuretum nigrum, 406 
rubrum, 406 

unguentum, 487 
Hydrargyrum, 401 

ammoniatum, 407 

cum creta, 408 
Hydrangea, fluid extract, 174 
Hydrastin, 1G3, 207 
Hydrated oxide of iron, 373 



Hydrate of potassa, 338 
Hydriodate of potassa, 362 
Hydrochloric acid, 328 

graduation of, 50 
Hydrometers, 49 
Hydrocyanic acid, 305, 307 
Hyoscyamia, 322 
Hyoscyamus^ extract, 155 

tincture, 113 



Iceland moss, 208, 251 

jelly, 521 

paste, 208 
Ichthyocolla, 259 
Ipmtia amara, extract, 160 
llicin, 293 
Implements, 23 
Incompatibles, 456 

of opium, 131 

pharmaceutical, 458 
Infusion mug, 92, 93 
Infusions, 92 

syllabus of, 

unofficinal, 96 
Inulin, 247 
Indigo, 297 
Indigotin, 297 
Injections, 478 
Inhalations, 479 
Inorganic preparations, 325 
Iodide of arsenic, 399 

of iron, 377 

liquor, 378 

and manganese svi i 

of lead, 392 

of manganese syruj . 

of mercury, 405 
red, 404 

of potassium, 362 
ointment, 486 

of sulphur, 366 
Iodine, 362 

ointments, 486 

preparations, syllabus, 361 

tincture, 363 
comp., 363 

solution, 364 
Ipecac, syrup, 186 

wine, 121 
Irish moss, 252 
Iron, see Ferrum. 

lozenges, 211 
Isinglass, 259 

plaster, 260 



Jackson's ammonia lozenges, 214 
pectoral lozenges, 214 
syrup, 195 



INDEX. 



535 



Jalap, extract, 158 

tincture, 114 
Jalapin, 163 
James' powder, 398 
Jars, 22 

Juglandis, extractum, 158 
Jew's beer, 122 
Jelly, calve' s-foot, 520 

chicken, 521 

for invalids, 519 

Iceland moss, 520 

rice, 526 

sago, 520 

slippery elm, 521 

tapioca, 521 



Kentish's ointment, 495 
Kermes' mineral, 397 
Kino, 304 

tincture, 113 
Krameria, extract, 158 

syrup, 188 

tincture, 113 



Labarraque's solution, 342 

Labels, 21, 506 

Labelling, 418, 506 

Lac, 257 

Lactate of iron, 375 

Lactin, 249 

Lactuca, extract, 162 

Lactucarium, 162 

Lady Webster pills, 449 

Language of prescriptions, 412 

Lard, 480 

Lard oil, 276 

Lartique's pills, 445 

Laudanum, 127 

Lavender water, 231 

Laxatives, 446 

Laxative tonic pills, 448 

Lead. (See Plumbi.) 

plaster, 272, 389 

water, 391 
Leaf, green, 298 

Leaves, collection and drying of, 64 
Lecanoric acid, 297 
Ledoyen's disinfectant, 392 
Legumin, 255 
Lemonade, 199 
Lemon syrup, 190, 198 
Leptandrin, 163 
Lichenin, 247 

Liebig's condenser, 219, 221, 223 
Lignin, 233, 234 
Lime, 349, 350 

carbonate, 351 



Lime — 

chlorinated, 351 

phosphate of, f>52 

water, 350 
Liniment, aconiti root, 494 

ammonia, 493, 494 

camphor, 493 

cantharis, 493 

hypericum, 495 

lime, 493, 494 

soap, 494 

turpentine, 494 

subacet. lead, 494 
Linseed oil, 276 
Lint, 235 
Lip salve, 482 
Liquid preparations, &c, 454 

substitute for Dover's powder, 470 
Liquor ammonise, 346 
acetas, 348 
Fortior, 346 

barii chlor., 360 

calcii chlor., 350 

caleis, 350 

ferri bromidi, 365 
iodidi, 378 
eitratis, 373 
persulphatis, 370 

hydrarg. et arsen. iod., 400 

iodinii comp. 364 

magnesias eitratis, 357 

morphise sulphatis, 466, 127 

plumbi subacet., 390 
dilutus, 391 

potassse, 336 

arsenitis, 399 
carbonatis, 334 
eitratis, 470, 471 

sodse chlorinata, 342 
Liquorice root and extract, 254 
List of plants, &c, 514 
Litharge, 389 
Litmus, 297 

Lobelia, extract acet., 162 
fluid, 179 
tincture, 113 
Lobelina, 320 
Lotions, 476 

creasote, 477 

granvilles, 477 
Lozenges, ammonia, 214 

cough, 215 

iron, 211 

pectoral, 214 

phosphatic, 212 

spittas, 213 

Wistar's, 212 

officinal, 204, 209 
syllabus of, 211 
Lugol's solution, 364 
Lunar caustic, 393 
Lye, medicated, 97 



536 



INDEX. 



M. 



Maceration, 92 
Machine-spread plasters, 492 
Macrotin, 163 
Magnesia, 856 

bicarbonate, 356 

carbonate, 355 

citrate, 359 

soluble, 359 
solution, 357 
effervescent. 

mixture, 467 

salts, syllabus of, 355 

sulphate, 355 
Mallio acid, 301 
Malt liquors, 263 
Manganese, 379 

carbonate, 380 

phosphate, 381 

syrups of, 381 

sulphate, 380 
Manna, syrup of, 196 
Manna, 254 
Mannite, 254 
Marshmallow paste, 208 
Marble, 349 
Maranta, 250 
Matico tincture, 118 
Meal, flaxseed, 252 

oat, 251 
Measures, 28 

graduated, 41 

selection of, 28 

tin. 29 

tables of, 40-41 

use of, 504 
Meconic acid, 308 
Medicated cough caiurj 

lye, '.'7 

water-. 7 * '. - 7 7 
Medicines adapted to liquid forms, 456 

to form of powder, 436 
to pilular foi 
Mel, 254 

Menisperinina, 312 
Mercurial mass, 433 

ointment. 1">7 
Mercury. (Sec Ibi'lrargyrum.) 

with chalk, 408 
Metrolog 
Mettauer, aperient, 96 

ethereal tinctures, 124-126 
Method of testing alkaloids, 324 

arsenic, 399 

cinchona alkaloids, 319 

mercury, 408 

opium, 308 
Mezquite gum, 248 
Mill, drug, 32, 71 
Millefleur, essence, 230 
Milk. 258 

solidified, 257 



Milk- 
sugar of, 249 
of roses, 483 
Mineral acids, 325 

apparatus, Bernhard's 87 

Nichols's, 89 
waters, 85 

directions for making, 88 

syrtips, 198—204 
Mitchell's lamp, 136 
aperient pills. 44S 
tonic pills, 441 
Mistura. (See Mixtures.) 
amygdala?, 474 
assafcetidre, 465 
Cretan, 460 
ferri comp., 463 
glycyrrhizaj comp.. 474 
Mixture, acetone, &c, IT I 
antacid and aroma t.. 164 
antibilious, 467 
blue mass and chalk. 162 
camphor, Hope's, 461 

Parrish's, 461 
oarb. ammonia, 464 
castor nil, 466 
colchicum, De 

Scudamore's, 469 
copaiva, 169 
cough, 474-475 
creasotc, 462 
cubebs, 468 
fever and ague, 463 
for hemorrhages, 4i'>2 
iron ami myrrh, 463 

and cinchona, 
hooping-cough, 475 
magnesia, 467 
oil of turpentine, 
pulmonary and catarrh i 
spermaceti, 175 
Tolu, 475 

tonic, for dyspepsia, 464 
B, 253 
Morphia, 312 
acetate, 314 
muriate, ;;l I 
solution of, 130, i 

sulphate, 81 1 

syrup of, 1 95 

valerianate-. 
Mortars, 29, 66 

use of, 68-70 

porcelain, 30, 75 

marble, 31 

for contusion, 31, 68 

wedgewood, 20, 69 
Moss, Iceland, 262 

paste, 208 
Mouth-wash, 231, 478 
Mucilage, 

Mucilaginous principles, 247 
Mulled wine, 519 



INDEX. 



537 



Muriated tincture of iron, 370 
Muriate of ammonia, 346 

morphia, 314 
Muriatic acid, 328 
Mutter's pills, 450 
Musk, tincture, 231 



N. 



Naphtha, wood, 245 
Narcotics, 444, 466 
Narcotina, 315 
Neatness, in dispensing, 495 
Neat's-foot oil, 276 
Nectar, syrup, 204 
Nervous sedatives, 466 

stimulants, 465 
Neutral crystalline principles, 292-294 

mixture, 470 
Nicotia or nicotina, 322 
Nitrate of lead, 389, 392 

solution, 392 

potassa, 345 

silver, 393 
Nitric acid, 328 
Nitromuriatic acid, 330 
Nitrous acid, 329 
Nomenclature of acids, 326 
Numerals used in prescription, 416 
Nux vomica, extract, 157 
tincture, 115 



Oat-meal, 251 

gruel, 521 
Officinal weights, 39 
Oil of asarum, 182 

butter, 258 

cardamom, 182 

capsicum, 182 

ergot, 182 

ginger, 181 

male fern, 182 

parsley, 182 
Oils. (See Oleum.) 

carbo-hydrogen, 284 

essential, 280, 287 

adulteration of, 282 

fixed, 271 

oxygenated, 285-286 

sulphuretted, 287 

volatile, 280 
Ointment (see Unguentum), 479, 490 

aconitia, 488 

for piles, 487 

for tetter, 488 

garlic, 489 

tobacco, 487 
Ointments, how kept, 22, 480 

and cerates, syllabus, 481, 483, 486 



Olea destillata, 227 

syllabus, 284-286 
Olein, 272 
Oleo-resin, capsicum, 182 

cubebs, 168 

ginger, 181 

pepper, 168 
Oleo-resins, 168, 289-291 
Oleum (see Syllabus), 284-286 

aclipis, 276 

sethereum, 268 

amygdalae, 275 

bubulum, 276 

cetacei, 270 

lini, 276 

morrhuEe, 278 

olivse, 275 

palmse, 276 

papaveris, 275 

ricini, 276 

sesami, 275 

tiglii, 278 
Olive oil, 275 
Opium, extract, 158 

abuse of, 132 

alkaloids, 312 

elixirs, 130-131 

Galenical solutions of, 127 

incompatibles of, 131 

pills, 444 

tinctures of, 127 

treatment of poisoning by, \e>i 

vinegar, 129 

Wine, 129 
Opodeldoc, 494 
Orange syrup, 203 
Orgeat syrup, 190, 201 
Orcine, 297 
Orris root, 252 
Oxalic acid, 301 
Ox galls, 258 
Oxide of antimony, 397 

bismuth, 395 

mercury, 406, 407 

iron, 373 

manganese, 380 

silver, 393 

zinc, 385, 386 
Oxygenated ess. oils, 285 
Os, 261 
Otto's antispasmodic powder, 443 

emmenagogue pills, 451 
Oyster-shell, 349 
Outfits for physicians, $100, 509 
$50, 511 
$2^, ole5 



Packages, 23, 499 
Packing bottle, 20 
Palma Christi, 277 



538 



INDEX. 



Palm oO, 270 

Panada, 520 

Pareira brava, extract, 161 

Papaverina, 315 

Paper, filtering, 36, 79 

wrapping, size of, 36 
Pararnorphia, 315 
Paregoric, 127 
Parrish's camphor mixture, 461 

cough lozenges, 215 
Parsley oil, 182 
Pastes, 207 
Paste, 506 

carrageen, 208 

Iceland moss, 208 

jujube, 207 

marshmallow, 208 

Ward's, 206 
Patchoulv, essence of, 230 
Pearl ash, 333 
Pectic acid, 301 
Pectin, 248 
Pectoral lozenges, Jackson's, 214 

syrup, 196 
Percolation, 97, 110 
Perfume for mouth wash, 231 

of plants, 281 
Perfumed hair oil, 277 
Pernitrate of iron solution, 370 
Peroxide of ir^ 

of mercury, 406 
Persulphate of iron, solution, 372 
Pestle and mortar, 29, 31 
Pharmaceutical incompatil il 

still. 22 1 
Pharmaco]" ria. •"'• ' ' 

plan i 
Pharmacy extemporaneous, 409 
Phloridzin, 296 
Phosphate iron, 370 

lime. _ 

syrups of, 

manganese, 380 
syrup of, 138 

soda, 341 
Phosphatic lozenges, 212 
Phosphoric acid. ;j;l 
Phosphorus, 367 
Pineapple syru: _ 
Pile confection, 206 
Pill boxes, 37 

machine, 33, 502 

tile, 33 
Pills. (See Pilulee.) 

aloetic. 440 

antibilious, 447, 449 

aperient. 448 

aromatic, 400 

camphor and opium. 445 

Chapman's dinner, 449 

croton oil, 44'J 

emmenagogue, 451 



Pills— 

excipients for, 432 

for intermittents, 442 

iodide of mercury, 451 

iron, 442 

and quinia, 442 

Lady Webster's. 449 

laxative tonic, 448 

sulphate of cinchonia, 439 
quinidia, 438 
PiluliB, 430 

aloes, 446 

et assafoetidre, 443 
et myrrh a\ 447 

assafcetidse, 443 

cathartics; composite, 447 

copaibif, 434 

ferri carbonatis, 434 
composite, 442 
iodidi, 442 

g&lb&ni composite, 443 

kydrargyri, 433 

hydrargyri chloridi miti.-, 1 10 

opii, 44 I 

quiniaj sulphatis, 438, 439 

rhei. 446 

saponis compositse, 1">2 

scilhc composite, 460 
Piper, fluid extract of, 168 
Piperin, 266 
Piperoid of ginger, 181 
Pipsissewa bec-i. 

decoction, 151 
Plants, on collection of, 63 
Plaster adhesive. (See Emp 

annular corn, 493 

court, 260 

lead. 272 

6pice, 498 

etrengtheniri_ 
Plumbum, 389 
Plumbi acetas, 390 

carbonas, 891 

Lodidom, 392 

nitras, 392 

oxidum semivitrein.: 

subacetatis liquor. 
dilutu- 
Podophyllin, 163 
Podophyllum, extract of, 158 
Poppyseed, oil of, 276 

syrup of, 193 
Potassae arsenitis liquor, 

acetas, 338 

bicarbonas, 334 

bitartras, 344 

bromidum, 365 

carbonas, 334 

carbonas pun; 

chloras, 338 

citras, 338 

cum calce, 338 

nitras, 345 



539 



Potassse — 

salts, 333, 343 

sulphas, 345 

tartras, 344 
Potassii cyanuretum, 308 

ferrocyanuretum, 308 

iodidum, 362 
Powder folders, 501 
Powdered blue mass, 433 
Powdering drugs, 66 

Powders, advantages and disadvantages 
of, 73 

and pills, 428 

anti-intermittent, 438 

antispasmodic, 443 

calomel, alterative, 451 

calomel and jalap, 448 

carbonate of ammonia, 443 

diarrhoea, 436, 437 

dusted, 68 

effervescing fever, 472 

emetic, 445 

for indigestion, 442 

iron and quinia, 440 

nitre and tart, antimony, 445 

precipitated, 72 

rhubarb and magnesia, 448 

seidlitz, 468 

soda, 473 

uterine hemorrhages, 445 

yeast, 473 
Precipitate, red, 406 

white, 407 
Precipitated carbonate of zinc, 386 
lime, 351 

extract of bark, 316 

sulphur, 365 

sulphuret of antimony, 396 
Prepared oyster shell, 349 
Preparation of lozenges, 209 

pills, 501 

syrups, 184 
Prescription, abbreviations used in, 416 
Prescriptions, 409 

analysis of, 410 

classification of, 411 

grammatical, exp. of, 414 

language used in, 412 

numerals used in, 416 

signs used in, 415 
Process of displacement, 97, 110 

distillation, 225 

evaporation, 152, 155 
Prunus Virginiana, 185 

infusion, 96 

syrup, 185 
Propyle, 280 
Pyroxylon, 243 
Pyroacetic spirit, 245 
Pyroxylic spirit, 245 
Protein principles, 255 
Proto-carbonate of iron, 434 

citrate of iron syrup, 373 



Proto-nitrate of iron syrup, 377 
Prussiate of potassa, 376 
Pulpa, 205 
Pulvis, aloes et canellse, 447 

antimonialis, 398 

aromaticus, 431 

jalapge comp., 448 

jacobi, 398 

ipecac, et opii, 450 



Q. 

Quassia, extract, 158 

infusion, 96 

tincture, 113 
Quercus alba, decoction, 154 
Quince seed, 252 
Quinidia, 317 

sulphate, 316 
pills, 439 
Quinia, 317 

sulphate, 316 
pills, 438 

tincture comp., 119 
Quinoidine, 319 



Raisins, 254 
Rand's collodion, 240 
Raspberry syrup, 203 

vinegar, 202 
Rat-tail file, 220 
Reaumur's thermometer, 145 
Red iodide of mercury, 404, 475 
oil, 495 
precipitate, 406 

ointment, 487 
sulphuret of mercury, 406 
Reel for string, 500 
Resinoid extracts, 163 
Resins, 288-291 
Retort, glass, 217 
receivers, 218 
tin, 219 
Rhatany, extract of, 159 
syrup, 185, 188 
tinctures, 113 
Rhubarb and magnesia, powders, 448 
extract, 158 
fluid extract, 167 
pills, 446 

comp., 446 
syrup and senna, 187 

aromat., 189 
tincture, 114 

aromat., 120 
and gentian, 114 
and senna, 114 
and aloes, 114 



540 



INDEX. 



Rice, 251 
Rice jelly, 520 
Rochelle salt, 344 
Rock candy, 253 
Rose-water, 85 

lip salve, 483 
Rubus villosus syrup, 102 
Rules for avoiding incompatibles, 458 

prescribing pills, 431 

apportioning quantities, 419 
Russ ; an isinglass, 269 

lamp, 138 



Sabadillia, 323 
Saccharine principle-. 
Saccharometer, 53 
Sago, 251 

jelly, 520 
Sateratus, 233 
Salep, -1'rl 
Salicin, 296 
Saline draugbts, 470 
Sal ammoniac, 846 

diuretic, 338 

prunelle, 8 i"> 

Rochelle, Ml 

soda, 840 
Saltpetre, 345 
Salts, Epsom, 355 

Rochelle, 344 

of morphia, 314 

quinia, 816 
Salve, Beckers eye, 488 
Sand hath, 146 

Sangninarina, 101, 315 

Santonin, 297 

Saratoga water, artificial, 01 

Sarsaparilla extract, 168 

iluid extract, 108 

decoction, 154 

Byrup, 200, 201 

syrup for mineral water. 2' mi 

syrup (Williams'), 197 
Sarsaparillin, 2-T> 
Savin, cerate, 486 

oil, 284 
Scales, 23, 226 
Scillie acetum, 125 

syrupus, 188 

compositus, 187 
Scudamore's mixture, 89 
Seeds, collection of, 64 
Selection of medicines, 424 
Seidlitz mixture, 344 

powders. 468 
Senega, decoction, 154 

syrup. 186 
Senegii:. 
Senna, fluid extract, 167 

and rhubarb, fluid extract, 175 



Senna — 

tincture, 114 

syrup, 185 

and jalap tincture, 114 
Serpentaria, fluid extract, 176. 177 

tincture, 114 
Sesquicarbonate ammonia, 3-L8 
Sesamum, 253 
Shakers' herbs, 65 
Sieves, 32 
Signatura, 421 
Signs in prescription, 415 
Silver. 

Silver, preparations of. 393 
Smilacin, -'■'■'> 
Soap cerate, 400 

Liniment, 1 Hi 

plaster, 492 

pills, 462 
Soda powders, IT:; 
Sodoe acetas, 343 

bicarbonas, 341 

boras, 8 16 

carbonas, 343 

exeiccatns, :'. 10 

et potaesse tartras, 34 1 

phosphas, 8 H 

sulphas, 340 

Valerianae, '■'■ I" 
Sodii chloridum, 8 10 
Solania, 321 
Solidified milk, 257 
Solution (how accomplishe Ij 7 1 

of acetate of ammonia, :; 18 

acetate of potassa, 1''''.' 

bicarbonate magnesia, 356 

carbonate of potassa, 88 I 

chloride of barium, 860 
calcium, 850 

chlorinated soda, :;(_' 

disinfecting i Labarraqn 
Ledoyan's, 

Donovan's, I'M 

Fowler's, W0 

Lugol's, 864 

Magendte's, 130 

of ammonia, :; 16 

citrate of iron. 378 

of citrate of magnesia, ; ;"»7 
potassa, lT'» 

cream tarts • 

of gun-cotton, -■','> 

iodide of iron, 378 

iodine comp. 864 

morphia sulph. 130 

pernitrate of iron, :;77 

persulphate of iron, 372 

potassa, 330 

quinine and iron, 464 
Soluble citrate of magnesia. 

tartar, :J44 
Spatulas, 32 
Specia jars, 19 



INDEX. 



541 



Specific gravity, 45 

bottles, 46, 48 

of liquids, 50 

urine, 51 

water at different temperatures, 52 
Spermaceti cerate, 481-482 

mixture, 475 

oil, 276 
Spice mill, 32, 37 
Spiced syrup of rhubarb, 189 
Spigelia, fluid extract, 167 
Spirit of ether, comp. 268 
nit., 269 

of ammonia, 347 
aromatic, 347 

of lavender, 228 
comp., 228 

of mindererus, 348 

of rosemary, 228 

wood, 245 
Spiritus, syllabus of, 228 

vini gallici, 228 
Spitta's lozenges, 213 
Spritz, 498 
Starch, 247-250 
Steam displacement, 108 
Stillingin, 163 
Stramonium extracts, 155-157 

tincture, 113 
Straining, strainers, 78 
Strawberry syrup, 201 
Strengthening plaster, 492 
Strychnia, 320 

sulphate, 321 
Subacetate of lead, liquor, 390 

copper, 383 
Sub-borate of soda, 346 
Subcarbonate of iron, 370 
Subsulphate of mercury, 404 
Subnitrate of bismuth, 395 
Sugar, 253 

cane, 248 

ergot, 248 

grape, 248 

manna, 248 

milk, 249 

of lead, 390 
Sulphate of alumina and potassa, 360 

cinchonia, 316 

copper. 369, 383 

magnesia, 355 

manganese, 380 

morphia, 314 

potassa, 345 

quinia, 316 

quiuidia, 316 

soda, 340 

strychnia, 320 

zinc, 386 
Sulphur, 365 

iodide of, 366 

lotum, 355 

precipitated, 366 



Sulphur — 

ointment, 486 
comp., 486 
Sulphuret of antimony (black), 396 
(golden), 397 
(Kermes'), 397 

mercury (red), 406 
(black), 406 
Sulphuretted oils, 287 
Superscription, 418 
Suppositories, 452 
Sweet spirit of nitre, 269 
Syrup, almond, 190 

anthemis, 190 

assafcetida, 197 

bittersweet, 194 

blackberry, 201 
aromat., 202 
root, 192 

bromide of iron, 378 

capsicum, 200 

carrageen, 192 

chamomile, 190 

chimaphila,191 

orange, 203 

citrate of iron, 374 

citric acid, 188 

cream, 204 

dulcamara, 194 

frost-wort, 193 

fruit, 198 

galls, 197 

garlic, 188 

gillenia, 194 

ginger, 188, 199 

gum Arabic, 190 

hive (Coxe's), 187 

iodide of manganese, 381 

manganese phosphate, 381 

ipecac, 186 

iron and iodide of manganese, 3i 

Jackson's pectoral, 195 

lemon, 190, 198 

manna, 196 

nectar, 204 

orange-peel, 185 

phosphate of iron, 353 
lime, 352 

pineapple, 203 

pipsissewa, 191 

poppy, 193 

proto-citrate of iron, 375 

proto-nitrate of iron, 377 

prunus Virginiana, 1 85 

raspberry, 201, 203 

rhatany, 185, 188 

rhubarb, simple, 187 
spiced, 189 

sarsaparilla, 200, 201 

senega, 186 

senna, 185 

squills, 188 

comp., 187 



542 



INDEX. 



Syrup — 

strawberry, 201 

sulphate of morphia, 195 

uva ursi, 191 

vanilla, 204 

■wild cherry, 185 
Syrups, straining of, 79 
Sydenham's laudanum, 129 
Syllabus. (See page xxiii.) 
Symbols in prescription, 415 
Synonyms in prescription, 414 



Tables. (See p. xxiv.) 
Tannic acid, 303 
Tapioca, 261 

preparation of, 520 
Tar beer, 122 

ointment, 483 
Taraxacum decoction, 154 

extract, 159 

fluid extracts, 177-179 
Tartar, 343 

emeti 
Tartaric acid, 300 
Tartrate of antimony and potassa. 891 

of potassa, ol 4 

of soda and potassa. .11 

of iron and potassi 
Terms used in prescriptions, 421 
Testa, preparata, 3 19 
Test for opium, 308 

alkaloids, 324 

essential oils, 282 

mercurials, 408 
Thebaia, 315 
Thein, 296 
Theobromin. 2 
Tueriaca Andronica, 200 
Thermometers, 144-145 
Tilden's extracts, 22 
Tiles, pill, 33 
Tinctura.'. 110 

Tinctura aconiti foliorum, 113 
Flemming's, 119 
radicis, 116 

aloes, 112 

et myrrhae, 116 

assafoetida?, 116 

belladonna?, 113 

benzoini comp., 116 

camphorte, 116 

cinnabis Indicae, 119 

cantharidis, 114 
ethereal, 125 

capsici, 116 

cardamomi, 114 
comp., 114 

castorei, 116 

catechu, 113 

cinchonas, 113 



Tinctura — 

cinchona?, comp., 113 

et quassise comp., 117 

f errata, 118 
colchici seminis, 113 
Colombo, 113 
conii, 113 
cubebae, 114 
digitalis, 113 
ferri amara, 118 

chloridi, 370 
gallae, 113 

gcntianae, comp., 113 
guaiaci, 116 

ammoniata, 117 

Dewees's 120 
hellebori, 114 
humuli, 1 IS 
hyoscyami, 113 
iodinii, 116, 

comp., 116, 363 
jalaps, 114 
kramerisB, 113 
kino, 113 
lobelia, 113 
InpulinsB, 1 16 
matico, 118 
nux vomica, 1 15 
ol. mentli. pip., 1 16 
vir., 116 
opii, 127 

acel .. 

camph., 128 
isB, 1 18 
qoinise composite, 119 
rhei, 120 

aromaticus, 120 

et aloes, 114 

et gentianae, 114 
■ anas, J 14 
BangninarisB, 1 18 
saponi> camphorata, 110 

BCillSB, 118 

serpentari:e, 114 
senna et jalaps, 114 

stramonii, 113 

strychnia;, 119 

tolutani, 116 

Valerianae, 114 

ammoniat., 117 

zingiberis, 115 
Tincture, Asiatic, for cholera, 126 

bottles, 19 

benzoated, 230 

of musk, 231 
Tinctures, ammoniated, 117 

astringent and tonic group, 113 

officinal, 113-115 

narcotic group, 113 

resinous group, 116 

saturated, 115 

stimulant group, 114 

tonic, 113, 117 



INDEX. 



543 



Tinctures — 

unofficinal, 117-120 
Toast water, 519 
Tobacco knife, 71 
Tolu, 290 
Tin, 475 
Tonic and aromatic pills, 441 

•pills and powders, 438-442 
Tonics, 463 
Tous les niois, 249 
Tragacanth, 252 
Trochisci. (See Lozenges.) 

officinal, 213 

unofficinal, 211, 215 
Trommer's test, 319 
Turpentine, 289 

mixture, 465 

oil, 284 
Turlington's balsam, 524 
Tutia— tutty, 385 
Turpeth mineral, 404 
Twiggs's hair dye, 367 



U. 

Ulmus, 252 
Ulmus, infusion, 95 
TJncrystallizable principles, 292 
TJnguenta (syllabus), 481, 486 
Unguentum. (See Ointment.) 
Unguentum allii, 489 

aconiti, 488 

antimonii, 486 

aquae rosse, 481, 482 

belladonnse, 487 

cantharidis, 489 

creasoti, 486 

cupri subacet., 486 

gallce, 486 

hydrargyri, 486, 487 
ammon., 486 
nitratis, 487 
oxid. rub., 486 

iodinii, 486 

comp., 486 

picis liquidss, 483 

plumbi carb., 486 

potassii iodidi, 486 

simplex, 481, 482 

stramonii, 487 

sulphuris, 486 
comp., 486 

tabaci, 488 

comp., 489 

zinci oxidum, 486 
Urinometers, 52 
Uva ursi decoction, 151 

extract, 162 

syrup, 191 



Valerian, extract, 161 

fluid extract, 167 

infusion, 95 
Valerianic acid, 298 
Valerianate of iron, 379 

of morphia, 315 

of soda, 343 

of zinc, 389 
Vance's rheumatism pills, 445 
Vanilla syrup, 204 
Vegetable acids, 298 

alkaloids, 309 

caustic, 318 

soap, 522 
Veratrin, 323 
Veratria, 323 
Veratrum, ointment, 486 

wine, 121 
Verbena water, 230 
Verdigris, 384 

ointment, 486 
Vermilion, 406 
Vials, 34 

lip of, 36, 505 
Vina medicata, 120 
Vinegar, 244 

aromatic, 231 

of opium, 129 

raspberry, 202 
Vinum aloes, 121 

antimony, 397, 121 

album, 120 

aromatic, 121 

colchici rad., 121 
seminis., 121 

ergotse, 121 

ipecacuanhas, 121 

opii, 127 

picis, 123 

rhei, 121 

rubrum, 120 

tabaci, 121 

veratri alba, 121 
Volatile liniment, 494 

oils, 280 

tinctures, 117 



Ward's paste, 206 
Wash, black, 477 

mouth, 231 

yellow, 477 
Washed ether, 365 

sulphur, 365 
Washing soda, 340 
Water batb, 146 

Cologne, 229 



bU 



INDEX. 



Water- 
lavender, 231 

rose, 85 

verbena, 230 
Waters, medicated (syllabus), 
Weights, apothecaries', 38 

Avery's, 27 

avoirdupois, 38, 40 

commercial, 38 

cup, 27, 39 

officinal, 38 

comparison of, 39 

brass, 26 
Whiskey, 264 
White lead, 391 

precipitate, 407 
Wiegand's retort stand, 153 

powder folder, 501 

string reel, 500 
Wild cherry infusion, 96 

syrup, 185 
Williams' sarsaparilla, 107 
Willow charcoal, 248 
Wine, 264 

aromatic, 121 

colchicum root, 121 
seed, 121 

opium. 127, L29 

port, 120 

sherrv. 1 21 ' 

tar, 122 

whey, 258, 521 



Wistar's lozenges. 212 
Wood charcoal, 243 
Worm tea, 525 
Writing prescriptions, 417 



Xanthoxylin, 295 
Xyloidin, 243 



Feast, 263 
Feast powders, 473 
Yellow wash, 477 
Yelk of egg, 256 



Zincum (syllabus), 386 
Zinci acetas, 387 

carbonas intpurus, 886 
prescip., 386 

chloridum, 387 

cyanuretum, 388 

oxidant, 886 

impurns, 385 

Bulphs 

valerianas, 389 



THE END. 



II 



